It's Thursday, the 27th of November 27th. Well, look at that. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Well, for those of you

watching and listening in the U.S., today, of course, is Thanksgiving. Now, if you're like me,

and frankly, I wouldn't wish that on any of you, you probably have spent the better part of

this month, eagerly awaiting one of the greatest American holiday events of the calendar year.

I refer, of course, to what took

place just the other day at the White House, the time-honored tradition of the presidential pardoning

of a Thanksgiving turkey, or turkeys. Also, referred to as the most awkward White House photo-op

ever misconceived. Now, I thought instead of the usual Thanksgiving morning message

about gratefulness and how you shouldn't talk politics with family members, I thought the

BDB could explain, in brief, the history of the turkey pardoning ceremony. After all, our job here

is to keep you as informed as possible. And so, without further delay. It was Abraham Lincoln,

as I recall, who himself once said, Turkey, meh, not a fan, but who famously first pardoned a turkey

around Christmas time because, well, his son had taken a shine to it. Poll numbers that followed

that unexpected event showed that the public appreciated Lincoln's

decisive action, and since that time, presidents have been riding Abe's coattails in an effort

to suck up to the public around the holidays. Now, not every president carried out the tradition.

It was rumored that Truman had no interest in the pardon, in part because he found turkey to be delicious,

and also because he was too busy dealing with a post-World War II world and ensuing Cold War.

According to the obscure Truman biographer, I believe it was Spanky McAllister,

Truman once commented to Bess, hardening that damn turkey will just make me look weak to the commies."

As traditions go, it ranks right up there somewhere in between the White House Easter

Egg Roll and the lesser-known White House wiffleball tournament that's held every June.

...