Obama pardons Thanksgiving turkey

President Obama gave Popcorn — the 38-pound Minnesota bird named this year’s national Thanksgiving turkey — a “full deprive from cranberry sauce and stuffing” at the annual presidential turkey pardon Wednesday at the White House.

In a dreary ceremony relocated from the Rose Garden to the north portico because of the storm battering Washington, Obama announced Popcorn had bested Caramel, another turkey from the farm of National Turkey Federation Chairman John Burkel in an online vote conducted by the White House.

“The office of the presidency, the most powerful position in the world, brings with it many awesome and solemn responsibilities. This is not one of them,” Obama quipped.

{mosads}Obama joked the contest was “quite literally the ‘Hunger Games’ ” and noted that Popcorn’s win was evidence “that even a turkey with a funny name can find a place in politics.”

He added that Caramel was “keeping busy already raising money for his next campaign.”

Both turkeys will actually be spared from a Thanksgiving table and head to George Washington’s estate at Mt. Vernon to live out the remainder of their lives.

The annual turkey pardon reportedly harkens back to President Lincoln, who offered reprieve to a pet turkey of his son Tad that was set to be served as part of a holiday meal.

Read more from The Hill.