Remarks by the President in Visit to Rodon Group Manufacturing Facility

Hatfield, Pennsylvania 
12:01 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Well, good morning, everybody.

AUDIENCE:  Good morning!

THE PRESIDENT:  Everybody, please, please have a seat.  Have a seat.  Relax for a second.  (Laughter.)

It is good to see all of you.  Hello, Hatfield!  (Applause.) It is good to be back in Pennsylvania.  And it is good to be right here at K’NEX.  (Applause.)  I want to thank Michael Araten, Robert Glickman, and the inventor of K’NEX, Joel Glickman, for hosting me today and giving me a great tour.  (Applause.)  Where did they go?  Where did they go?  I want to -- (applause) -- stand up.  Stand up so everybody can see you guys. There they are.  (Applause.)  There you go.

And I just noticed, we’ve got a couple of outstanding members of Congress here.  We’ve got Chaka Fattah -- (applause)
-- and Allyson Schwartz.  (Applause.)  

Now, I just finished getting a tour of the K’NEX workshop.  I have to say, it makes me wish that Joel had invented this stuff a little sooner, when I was a kid.  (Laughter.)  Back then, you couldn’t really build a rollercoaster out of your Erector Set.  (Laughter.)

And I also got a chance to meet some of the folks who have been working around the clock to keep up with the Christmas rush, and that’s a good thing.  These guys are Santa’s extra elves here.  They manufacture

Remarks by the President at the National Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon

The Rose Garden

2:08 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, good afternoon, everybody.  (Turkey gobbles.)  (Laughter.)

They say that life is all about second chances.  And this November, I could not agree more.  (Laughter.)  So in the spirit of the season, I have one more gift to give, and it goes to a pair of turkeys named Cobbler and Gobbler.  The American people have spoken, and these birds are moving forward.  (Turkey gobbles.)  (Laughter.)  I love this bird.  (Laughter.)

Now, I joke, but for the first time in our history, the winners of the White House Turkey Pardon were chosen through a highly competitive online vote.  And once again, Nate Silver completely nailed it.  (Laughter.)  The guy is amazing.  He predicted these guys would win.

I want to thank everyone who participated in this election.  Because of your votes, the only cobbler anyone’s eating this Thanksgiving will come with a side of ice cream.  And for that, our winning turkey can thank his stellar campaign team led by Steve Willardsen, who is the Chairman of the National Turkey Foundation and raised this beautiful bird at Miller Farm in Harrisonburg, Virginia.  So here’s Steve.  (Applause.)