Meet Honest and Abe: This Year’s 'Pardoned' Turkeys
The president pardons a turkey (or two) every year at the White House.
— -- It looks like a normal press conference, until the camera tilts slightly to the floor.
Gobbling underneath the podium are two big, white turkeys: Honest and Abe.
They were chosen by Jihad Douglas, chairman of the National Turkey Federation, to be “pardoned” by President Obama this week –- a decade’s old tradition performed at the White House before Thanksgiving every year.
Tuesday's press gaggle -- or, press gobble -- is not only to introduce the turkeys to the world, but also to help condition them to being in front of big crowds and on display.
Until their big day at the White House on Wednesday, they’ll be staying in a room at the Willard InterContinental hotel in downtown Washington, D.C.
“We wanted them to be comfortable,” Douglas told ABC News. “I think it’s a better room than mine!”