"I beg your pardon!"

President Bush pardoned his last turkey this morning, and all I could think was, "OH MAN! This is gonna be so cute when Obams does it next year!"

Here's a snippet of Bush's speech at the ceremony. I hate to admit this, but it is so totally adorable. (If you love hokey dad humor and puns, which I do.)

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

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, drawn out election season, when the people finally spoke, the name of the ticket sent here to the White House was Pumpkin and Pecan. Pumpkin is right there. Pecan is in an undisclosed location.

Pumpkin and Pecan have an exciting trip ahead of them: Later today, they will fly to Disneyland aboard "Turkey One." 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 humble there.

Isn't Pumpkin hilarious looking? He's so surly. Love it.