Bill Clinton: “Good morning. Chairman Gessell, President Proctor, Walt Gislason, and all the children from the Greater Washington Boys…”

“Good morning. Chairman Gessell, President Proctor, Walt Gislason, and all the children from the Greater Washington Boys and Girls Clubs, welcome to all of you. I want to thank you for joining us in the Rose Garden for our annual Thanksgiving Day celebration. I'd also like to thank the National Turkey Federation again for donating this year's tom turkey to the White House. And of course, I want to acknowledge our special guest of honor, this good-looking turkey from the ``Land of 10,000 Lakes,'' Minnesota. Minnesota is the second largest turkey producing State in our Nation. They have even more turkeys there than lakes. And I must say, of all the years I've been here, this is the most adventurous turkey we've ever had. [Laughter] Just ask him your questions. [Laughter] While the average turkey weighs about 15 pounds, they tell me our friend here weighs over 45 pounds. As all of you know, Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, dating back to the Pilgrims and Plymouth, Massachusetts. When the Pilgrims sat down for Thanksgiving dinner in 1621, of course, they didn't have the usual trimmings: no potatoes, no stuffing, no pumpkin pie. In fact, they didn't even have a turkey. They feasted on maize, squash, and venison. A lot has changed in the last three and a half centuries in our country and not just the Thanksgiving dinner menu. But every year that I come here to do this ceremony, it seems we have more to be thankful for as Americans.…”