But would even a turkey pardon this President?

From Wikipedia, in response to a lively discussion in the foyer this morning:

Since 1947, or possibly earlier, the National Turkey Federation has presented the President of the United States with one live turkey and two dressed turkeys. The live turkey is pardoned and lives out the rest of its days on a peaceful farm. While it is commonly held that this tradition began with Harry Truman in 1947, the Truman Library has been unable to find any evidence for this. Still others claim that that the tradition dates back to Abraham Lincoln pardoning his son's pet turkey. Both stories have been quoted in more recent presidential speeches.

In more recent years, two turkeys have been pardoned, in case the original turkey becomes unavailable for presidential pardoning. Since 2003 the public has been invited to vote for the two turkeys' names. In 2005, they were named Marshmallow and Yam; 2004's turkeys were named Biscuit and Gravy; in 2003, Stars and Stripes.

This year, Marshmallow is going to Disneyland to Grand Marshal their Thanksgiving Day Parade - apparently the title Grand Marshal has few attached responsibilities. I expect that the White House Staff had to spend weeks prepping this President for his first experience with pardoning:

"I'm confident," he said, "that every person that has been put to death in Texas under my watch has been guilty of the crime charged, and has had full access to the courts." - article by Anthony Lewis, June 2000