Obama 'Was Planning To Eat This Sucker'; But 'Courage' Is Pardoned
'Courage' will live on. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
'Courage' will live on.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images"I was planning to eat this sucker," President Barack Obama just joked, before issuing an "official" pardon for Courage the turkey. His girls convinced him to do otherwise, Obama said.
Cracking another one-liner, Obama also said that he and daughters Sasha and Malia today have "saved or created four turkeys" -- a second bird, named Carolina, has also been pardoned and the first family will be delivering two birds (for eating) to a D.C.-area charity.
That "saved or created" line, of course, refers to the oft-used phrase his administration keeps using about the jobs that it says have been "saved or created" by this year's economic stimulus package.
On a more serious note, the president urged all Americans to -- as we say thanks this week -- "also give back to those less fortunate" during this holiday season.
The Obama girls and the president all took the opportunity to pet Courage, by the way.
Earlier, we posted the amusing "preview" video that the White House produced.
Update at 12:30 p.m. ET. Here's the audio of the president's "proclamation":