President Bush Pardons "Pumpkin and Pecan" in National Thanksgiving Turkey Ceremony VIDEO PODCAST

Young members of the Rose Garden audience gather around Pumpkin, the National Thanksgiving Turkey, after it was officially pardoned by President George W. Bush during festivities Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008, at the White House. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

President Bush Pardons "Pumpkin and Pecan" in National Thanksgiving Turkey Ceremony. FULL STREAMING VIDEO Rose Garden Thanksgiving 2008 11:20 A.M. EST. PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Please be seated. Welcome to the Rose Garden for the pardoning of the National Thanksgiving Turkey.

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

I appreciate the representatives of the National Turkey Federation who have joined us: President Joel Brandenberger; Chairman Paul Hill; Paul's wife, Mary June. Today's birds were hatched on the Hill family farm in Ellsworth, Iowa. Paul's son, Nathan, and daughter-in-law, Betsy, along with grandsons Collin and Connor, did a fabulous job of raising the guests of honor.

I also welcome the children here from Cloverly Elementary School. And after I make my brief remarks, you will be welcome to come up and pet our feathered friends.

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. (Laughter and applause.) Pumpkin is right there. (Laughter.) Pecan is in an undisclosed location. (Laughter.)

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

This is my final Thanksgiving as the President. Over the past eight years, I have been given many reasons to be thankful. I'm thankful to our men and women in uniform and I am incredibly proud to have been their Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.) I am thankful for the armies of compassion volunteers who feed the hungry and shelter the poor. I am thankful for the teachers and nurses and pastors police officers and firefighters, and others who serve their neighbors and better their communities.

I'm thankful for the wonderful and supporting family that I have been blessed with. I'm grateful to Laura for her love. I'm grateful for two Thanksgiving miracles who were blessed -- who we were blessed with 27 years ago: Barbara and Jenna. I'm thankful for the fact that my mother is doing well. (Applause.) And this year we're looking forward to having another place at our Thanksgiving table with a son-in-law, and I'm thankful for Henry.

Most of all, I thank the American people for the tremendous privilege of serving as the President. In recent weeks, I've talked a lot about sprinting to the finish. Yet I've assured these turkeys they will not be trotting to their finish. (Laughter.) That's because in keeping with a longstanding tradition, Pumpkin and Pecan are hereby granted a full and unconditional -- unconditional presidential pardon.

I wish all Americans a happy Thanksgiving, and may God bless you. (Applause.)

END 11:24 A.M. EST For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary November 26, 2008

Peter R. Orszag Biography

Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag discusses the value of blogs and plans for his own blog at www.OMB.gov. February 26, 2009

On November 25th, 2008, then President-elect Barack Obama announced Orszag as his nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget. At 40, he is the youngest member of the Obama Cabinet, as the president upgraded the Director of OMB to cabinet-level priority.

Peter R. Orszag (born December 16, 1968 Boston, Massachusetts) was the seventh Director of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. His four-year term began on January 18, 2007. The Director of CBO is responsible for ensuring that all duties of the organization, as specified by law, are performed effectively, appropriately, and in a timely manner. The Director regularly consults with the budget committees to ensure that the agency's work and capacities meet and keep pace with Congressional demands.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Before joining CBO, Dr. Orszag was the Joseph A. Pechman Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. While at Brookings, he also served as Director of The Hamilton Project; Director of the Retirement Security Project; and Codirector of the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture with the Urban Institute.

Director, Retirement Security Project, January 2004–January 2007; Research Professor,
Georgetown University, January 2005–January 2007. Relying on independent research and
evidence-based results, the Retirement Security Project promotes retirement security among moderate- and lower- income families. A joint venture between Georgetown University and the Brookings Institution, it is funded by a multimillion, multiyear grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Director, Competition Policy Associates, Inc. (Washington, DC); May 2003–January 2007; Senior Director, Sebago Associates, Inc. (Washington, DC), March 2002–January 2007; President, August 1998–February 2002. Clients included the World Bank, Nordic Council of Ministers, Governor of California, Central Bank of Iceland, Government of Trinidad and Tobago, National Collegiate Athletic Association, and businesses ranging from small companies to the Fortune 500 corporations.

Consultant, McKinsey & Company (San Francisco, CA), June 1998–August 1998. Advised one of the nation’s largest HMOs on developing its 1999 budget and redesigning its budget process.

Professional Research Staff, Centre for Economic Performance (London School of
Economics), October 1994–June 1995. Member of International Finance, Capital Markets,
and Macroeconomic research groups.

Staff Economist, Council of Economic Advisers, August 1993–July 1994. Areas of
concentration included international macroeconomics, international trade, and the reform process in the former Soviet Union.

Economic Adviser, Macroeconomic and Fiscal Unit (Ministry of Finance, Russian
Government), January 1993–August 1993. Assisted the Russian Government in its
negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

Research Officer, Centre for Economic Performance, September 1992–August 1993. Wrote Russian Economic Trends, the quarterly report of the Russian Government. In previous government service, he served as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy (1997–1998), and as Senior Economist and Senior Adviser on the Council of Economic Advisers (1995–1996) during the Clinton administration..

Rep. John Campbell asks a few questions of Dr. Peter Orszag, Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

EDUCATION

Phillips Exeter Academy, graduate with High Honors, June 1987.

Dr. Orszag graduated summa cum laude in economics from Princeton University, June 1991. Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, June 1991. Awarded John Glover Wilson Memorial Prize in Economics, June 1991.

London School of Economics, M.Sc. in economics with distinction, June 1992. Awarded
M.Sc. Economics Prize, June 1992. Awarded Marshall Scholarship, 1991–1992, Ph.D. in economics, March 1997. Thesis: Dynamic Analysis of Regime Shifts Under Uncertainty: Applications to Hyperinflation and Privatization.

He has coauthored or coedited a number of books, including Protecting the Homeland 2006/7 (2006), Aging Gracefully: Ideas to Improve Retirement Security in America (2006), Saving Social Security: A Balanced Approach (2004), and American Economic Policy in the 1990s (2002).

PERSONAL

Dr. Orszag is of hungarian ancestry an avid runner who has participated in a number of marathons and half marathons. He enjoys Country music, reading history and biographies.

In 1997, he married Cameron Hamill, step-daughter of Donald Kennedy, former President of Stanford University, with whom he had two children, Leila Madeleine and Joshua Nathaniel, They have since been divorced and they share joint custody.

He recently had a daughter Tatiana Zoe Milonas delivered on Nov. 17. with ex-girlfriend, Claire Milonas 39-year-old venture capitalist and a Greek shipping heiress. Ms. Milonas, is the Harvard and Yale educated daughter of a prominent Greek businessman. “We were in a committed relationship until the spring of 2009. In November, Claire gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Although we are no longer together, we are both thrilled she is happy and healthy, and we would hope that everyone would respect her privacy.” Mr. Orszag and Ms. Milonas said in a joint statement

As of January 2010, he is engaged to ABC News reporter Bianna Golodryga 31 with a planned wedding in October. They met at the White House Correspondents' dinner in May.

Dr. Orszag lives in Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C. His parents are Dr Steven Alan Orzag, Hamrick Professor of Engineering and Applied and Computational Mathematics at Princeton and Reba (Karp) Orszag who is the president and owner of Cambridge Hydrodynamics Inc., a research and development company.

SOURCES:

• YouTube - whitehouse's Channel
• Director’s Blog, Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
• Congressional Budget Office - Division Information
• Peter R. Orszag From Wikipedia
• Peter Orszag Bio CBO
• 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Peter Orszag
• Cameron Hamill and Peter Orszag
• If Peter Orszag Is So Smart, What Will He Do Now?
• Peter Orszag, just engaged, acknowledges new baby with ex-girlfriend Claire Milonas