In executive 'amnesty' move, Obama pardons turkeys 'Mac' and 'Cheese'

Jokes about the controversy over his immigration policy

Joking that “some will call this amnesty,” President Barack Obama on Wednesday took part in one of the oddest traditions in American politics: The pardoning of two turkeys, “Mac” and “Cheese,” who will be spared from a Thanksgiving roasting.

“I am here to announce what I’m sure will be the most talked-about executive action this month,” Obama declared with a smile in a thinly veiled reference to the controversy over last week's immigration announcement.

“Today, I’m taking an action fully within my legal authority, the same kind of action taken by Democratic and Republican presidents before me, to spare the lives of two turkeys.”

“Some will call this amnesty, but don’t worry, there’s plenty of turkey to go around,” Obama said at the ceremony, which was driven indoors by bad weather.

Profile of Mac.  One of the two turkey's pardoned by President Barack Obama on Novermber 26, 2014 at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Whitehouse.gov)
Profile of Mac.  One of the two turkey's pardoned by President Barack Obama on Novermber 26, 2014 at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Whitehouse.gov)

As it has in past years, the White House posted an online poll and asked the public to decide which gobbler would be named "America's Next Top Turkey."  The poll reads like an online dating profile and includes profile cards that compare the two male birds according to date of birth (both July 7, 2014), “strut style” (Mac is a “feather-shaker” while Cheese is a “grand champion”), Gobble (Mac’s is “rhythmic, melodious, with a touch of bluegrass” while Cheese is “loud, romantic, with a country ring to it”) and height, weight and wingspan.

Profile of Cheese.  One of the two turkey's pardoned by President Barack Obama on Novermber 26, 2014 at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Whitehouse.gov)
Profile of Cheese.  One of the two turkey's pardoned by President Barack Obama on Novermber 26, 2014 at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Whitehouse.gov)

Both birds came from Cooper Farms in Oakwood, Ohio. And in fact, both birds will live out their days on a farm outside Washington, DC., but they may not have a long retirement. Turkeys bred for the table are fat and short-lived, meaning that either way it’s probably their last Thanksgiving.

“Let’s face it, If you’re a turkey and you’re named after a side dish, your chances of escaping Thanksgiving dinner are pretty low,” the president said. “So these guys are well ahead of the curve, they really beat the odds.”

In a move sure to make critics cry fowl, Mac and Cheese spent the night at the posh Willard Hotel, big-donor style, before getting their VIP trip to the White House and their presidential pardon. (Don’t laugh: The Butterball PAC spent a bit more than $38,000 in the 2014 cycle).

The credit – or blame – for this odd tradition falls to George H. W. Bush. Sure, the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln himself, supposedly spared a turkey at the request of his son Tad, according to what the White House bills as the “definitive history” of the bizarre ritual. But it was Bush who started the modern version, announcing on Nov. 14, 1989 that the turkey had “been granted a presidential pardon.” So the bird was spared the oven and went instead, ironically, to “Frying Pan Park” in Herndon, Virginia.

CLICK IMAGE for slideshow: President Harry S. Truman squints as he fingers the wattle of a 35-pound Tom Turkey from Oregon as it is presented to him, in the White House Rose Garden on Nov. 18, 1952. The turkey, intended for the president’s last Thanksgiving in the White House, was made by representatives of the Poultry and Egg National Board and the National Turkey Federation. At right is Loren Johnson, of Corvallis, Ore., one of the group making the presentation. (AP Photo/Henry Griffin)

The day’s events brought Obama’s pardon total to 12 turkeys and just 52 people, according to records kept by CBS News's Mark Knoller. The president is famously sparing with clemency for humans.

Obama, who was to join his wife and teenage daughters at a food pantry later in the day, acknowledged that “it is a little puzzling that I do this every year.”

But, he said, “with all the tough stuff that swirls around in this office, it’s nice once in a while just to say ‘Happy Thanksgiving!.”