[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
[November 22, 1995]
[Pages 1779-1780]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation Ceremony
November 22, 1995

    The President. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Rose Garden, and 
Happy Thanksgiving. I want to acknowledge, especially, Kenneth Rutledge, 
the chairman of the National Turkey Federation, his wife, Brenda, his 
son, John; Stuart Proctor--Kenneth is the chairman; Stuart Proctor is 
the president of the Turkey Federation, his wife, Sherry. I also want to 
recognize the presence here of Congressman Cal Dooley. And I want to on 
this cold day warmly welcome the young people and the volunteers who are 
here from the Boys Club, the Girls Club of America, the Big Brothers and 
Big Sisters program, and the members of the AmeriCorps program from 
Baltimore. [Applause] Thank you. I also want to say that's the most 
multicolored, best looking turkey we've had here since I've been 
President.
    You know, we're here today to have a little fun and to begin the 
official Thanksgiving in our country that we give every year at this 
time for the blessings that God has given us, for the personal gifts 
he's given us, the gifts of our families and communities and to our 
great country.
    Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, as all of you know. It 
goes back to our foundings. But I think it's important to note that the 
first official proclamation of Thanksgiving, issued by a United States 
President, was issued by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, when our 
people were overwhelmingly preoccupied with their problems and indeed 
with whether our country would even continue to exist. Nevertheless, Mr. 
Lincoln reminded us that we had things to be thankful for.
    On this Thanksgiving here in America, we've got a lot to be thankful 
for. The combined rates of unemployment and inflation in our country are 
at their lowest in 27 years. Home ownership and new business formation 
and the stock market now are at an all-time high, all three of them. 
Maybe even more important, the crime rate, the welfare rates, the 
poverty rates, they're all down this year, and we're grateful for that. 
I'm grateful that the United States has been a force for peace, from the 
Middle East to Northern Ireland and to Haiti and now of course, we hope, 
in Bosnia.
    But we should never forget that there are still people in our 
country that need our concern and our caring. The young people who are 
here today are interested in making the most of their own lives and 
serving those in their community. And that's an important part of 
Thanksgiving as well. We have obligations to our parents and to our 
children, to people who are disabled or otherwise, through no fault of 
their own, need a helping hand.
    And just before I came here, I was with Secretary Cisneros and the 
First Lady at a homeless shelter here in Washington, DC, where we were 
feeding people. And I'm sad to say I saw a fresh and personal example of 
the fact that the fastest growing group of homeless people in our 
country are young women and their young children.

[[Page 1780]]

    So on this Thanksgiving we should be thankful for our blessings, and 
we should redouble our resolve to do everything we can to make America a 
place of honor and decency and community, where we can all give thanks.
    I'd like to say one other thing, too. I'm very proud of the United 
States negotiators who did so much to help to bring about the peace 
agreement in Bosnia yesterday. There will be many questions in the days 
ahead about all the things that have to be answered before we can go 
forward with this project. And I expect to be addressing the Nation 
about it shortly.
    But let me just remind you of one thing on this Thanksgiving eve. 
Among other things, in that tiny country, so much smaller than the 
United States, there are one million homeless people. So I say, on this 
Thanksgiving, I hope God will bless the peace and bring those folks home 
again as well.
    Let me now turn to the moment at hand, which I look forward to every 
day--every year, I mean. This is a--[laughter]--I wouldn't mind having 
it every day, actually. In 1947, President Truman began this great 
tradition of accepting a Thanksgiving turkey and then granting it a 
Presidential pardon.

[At this point, the turkey gobbled.]

    The President. You can see one person thoroughly agrees with my 
decision here. [Laughter] This year, I guess we can say, since the 
Government is back to work, I can at least grant to one living thing in 
America, a permanent furlough. [Laughter]
    Approximately 45 million turkeys will be consumed tomorrow all 
across our country but not this one. As in previous years, it will be 
donated to Kidwell Farms, a petting zoo in Fairfax, Virginia. I am glad 
to be able to give this turkey a pardon. And as I said, if you look at 
his very patriotic red, white, and blue face and feathers, it seems like 
the American thing to do on Thanksgiving.
    I believe this turkey was born in the State of California and raised 
there. And we're delighted to have the turkey and the turkey's owner 
come all the way from California. And to all the farmers who raise 
turkeys in North Carolina, Minnesota, California, my home State of 
Arkansas, and throughout the country, let me say we appreciate what you 
do for our agricultural sector and for the nutrition of the United 
States.
    But I'm very glad that one of your products is going to be exempt 
from the cruel fate that will make so many of us happy tomorrow. And by 
this action, I hereby pardon this turkey. There are so many turkeys in 
Washington, I should pardon at least one a year, I think. [Laughter]
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 2:04 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House.