THE UNGOBBLED GOBBLER

As to who spared the first Presidential gobbler, one charming bit of folklore lays that honor at the feet of Abraham Lincoln.

Surprisingly, this tradition which now everyone remembers as having gone on forever apparently began with President George H.W. Bush in 1989. At that year’s Thanksgiving presentation of a bird for the First Family’s table, in his remarks to those assembled, he said, “But let me assure you – and this fine tom turkey – that he will not end up on anyone’s dinner table. Not this guy. He’s been granted a presidential pardon as of right now, allowing him to live out his days on a farm not far from here.”

President George H.W. Bush bestowed subsequent poultripital pardons on Thanksgiving birds in each succeeding year of his presidency, thereby establishing the tradition.

The foregoing is an excerpt from a Snopes.com article.

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/thanksgiving/pardon.asp