President Bush Pardons "Pumpkin¹ and Pecan" in National Thanksgiving Turkey Ceremony

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Please be seated. Welcome to the Rose Garden for the pardoning of the National Thanksgiving Turkey.

This is a tradition that dates back to the presidency² of Harry³ Truman. Just to be safe, I will be pardoning a second bird -- (laughter) -- in the unlikely event the main act chickens out. (Laughter.) Turkeys are not only the ones on edge this morning -- you see, it turns out the Rose Garden is Barney's turf. (Laughter.) So the press corps⁴ is a little nervous, as well. (Laughter.)

 I appreciate the representatives of the National Turkey Federation⁵ who have joined us: President Joel Brandenberger; Chairman Paul Hill; Paul's wife, Mary June. Today's birds were hatched on the Hill family farm in Ellsworth, Iowa. Paul's son, Nathan, and daughter-in-law, Betsy, along with grandsons Collin and Connor, did a fabulous⁶ job of raising the guests of honor.

I also welcome the children here from Cloverly Elementary School. And after I make my brief remarks, you will be welcome to come up and pet our feathered friends.

This is an election year, so it is fitting that the names of these two birds were chosen through the democratic process. After a long, drawn⁷ out election season, when the people finally spoke⁸, the name of the ticket sent here to the White House was Pumpkin and Pecan. (Laughter and applause.) Pumpkin is right there. (Laughter.) Pecan is in an undisclosed location. (Laughter.)

Pumpkin and Pecan have an exciting trip ahead of them: Later today, they will fly to Disneyland aboard "Turkey One." (Laughter.) Pumpkin will be the honorary Grand Marshal of Disneyland's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Together these birds will gobble the rest of their days in "The Happiest Place on Earth." I just hope they stay humble⁹ there. (Laughter.)

This is my final Thanksgiving as the President. Over the past eight years, I have been given many reasons to be thankful. I'm thankful to our men and women in uniform and I am incredibly proud to have been their Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.) I am thankful for the armies of compassion¹⁰ volunteers who feed the hungry and shelter the poor. I am thankful for the teachers and nurses and pastors¹¹ police officers and firefighters, and others who serve their neighbors and better their communities.

I'm thankful for the wonderful and supporting family that I have been blessed with. I'm grateful to Laura for her love. I'm grateful for two Thanksgiving miracles who were blessed -- who we were blessed with 27 years ago: Barbara and Jenna. I'm thankful for the fact that my mother is doing well. (Applause.) And this year we're looking forward to having another place at our Thanksgiving table with a son-in-law, and I'm thankful for Henry.

 Most of all, I thank the American people for the tremendous privilege of serving as the President. In recent weeks, I've talked a lot about sprinting¹² to the finish. Yet I've assured these turkeys they will not be trotting¹³ to their finish. (Laughter.) That's because in keeping with a longstanding tradition, Pumpkin and Pecan are hereby granted a full and unconditional¹⁴ -- unconditional presidential pardon.

I wish all Americans a happy Thanksgiving, and may God bless you. (Applause.)

参考中文翻译：

布什总统：谢谢大家。请坐。欢迎大家来到玫瑰园参加传统的赦免感恩节火鸡的活动。

这个传统可以追溯到Harry Truman总统时期。为了安全起见，我将要赦免第二种鸟——鸡——将他们释放。今天早上在场的不只是火鸡——你可以看到。玫瑰园里布满了Barney的草地。所以记者团也有点紧张。

非常感激今天参加此活动的代表们，他们是……………………………………………………………………

同样欢迎来自Cloverly小学的孩子们。在我的简短的讲话之后，你们就可以去抚摸那些长满羽毛的朋友了。

今年是大选之年，所以这两种鸟的选名也是按照民主党的程序进行的。经过一个漫长的选举之后，人们终于确定了这两只鸟的名字并且送到白宫，他们的名字是Pumpkin 和 Pecan。Pumpkin就在这里。Pecan在一个秘密的地方。

Pumpkin和Pecan将要进行一个激动人心的旅行：今天晚些时候，他们将飞向迪斯尼登上“火鸡一号”。Pumpkin将成为迪斯尼乐园感恩节仪仗队的大元帅。剩下的时间他们将要一起畅游“地球上最快乐的地方”。我希望他们在这里能谦虚一点。

这是我作为总统度过的最后一个感恩节。在过去的8年里，我有很多需要感恩的理由。我感谢我们身穿制服的军人，作为你们的领导我感到骄傲。我感谢那些救济会的志愿者们，他们赡养饥寒交迫的人们。我要感谢教师，护士，牧师，警察和消防员，还有那些为邻居服务，使社区变得更美好的人。

我要感谢一直支持我的家庭。我感谢Laura对我的爱。我要感谢我的两个奇迹——和我一起度过了27年的Barbara和Jenna。我感谢我的妈妈身体健康。今年我们的感恩节餐桌上将会多出一个位置——我的女婿，我感谢Henry。

最主要的，我要感谢美国人民最我作为总统的支持。在最近的几周里，我说了很多短距离冲向终点之类的话。但是我确信这些火鸡不会冲向终点。因为为了这个悠久的传统，Pumpkin和Pecan受到总统完全的，无条件的赦免。

祝愿所有美国人民感恩节快乐！愿上帝保佑你们！