Iowa Turkey to Receive Obama’s Final Presidential Pardon

President Obama will be pardoning an Iowa turkey just before Thanksgiving for only the sixth time in the nearly 70 years of the American tradition. Turkeys from Iowa have previously made the trip for pardons during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. Obviously one of them pardoned an Iowa bird twice. How sweet of them.

According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, the chairman of the National Turkey Federation, John Reicks, picked Iowa for this year's turkey. Not one, but two turkeys from the Hawkeye State will be making the trip to Washington, D.C.

Now try not to laugh when you see this next part. Just try.

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Ok, that's actually not a joke. President Obama will pardon the turkey that he believes to be the most comfortable with crowds. After all, we wouldn't want a 'when birds attack' scene in our nation's capital. President Obama will even give a name to the bird he pardons.

There were actually 20 turkeys in Iowa raised specifically for this job. The two making the trip to D.C. will live their golden years at a teaching farm for Virginia Tech. The Iowa turkey stars will leave a farm in northwest Iowa Friday morning, bound for their day in the sun.

[via Iowa City Press-Citizen]