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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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President pardons last turkeys

President Barack Obama, with his nephews Aaron Robinson and Austin Robinson, and National Turkey Federation Chairman John Reicks, pardons the National Thanksgiving Turkey, Tot, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. This is the 69th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Barack Obama, with his nephews Aaron Robinson and Austin Robinson, and National Turkey Federation Chairman John Reicks, pardons the National Thanksgiving Turkey, Tot, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. This is the 69th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The annual turkey pardon is a silly tradition, and President Obama knows it. On Wednesday, before pardoning turkeys named Tater and Tot, Obama summed up his feelings about this particular duty.

"It is my great privilege — well, it's my privilege — actually, let's just say it's my job to grant them clemency this afternoon," Obama said.

Not in attendance for the president's final turkey pardoning ceremony were First Daughters Sasha and Malia Obama, who gamely laughed alongside their father last year. So instead, the president's nephews Austin and Aaron Robinson stood by for what Obama called his "corny-copia of dad jokes about turkeys"/Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR. More here.



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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