2012 was a fine year for Cobbler, the turkey. Cobbler, who was raised in Rockingham County, Virginia, was just 19 weeks old when he was named the National Thanksgiving Turkey, earning himself a pardon from the president of the United States on November 21, 2012.
But Cobbler didn't last long. Just months after the passing of his turkey alternate, Gobbler (all pardoned turkeys have an alternate), Cobbler was euthanized on Aug. 22, 2013. Like every other turkey pardoned by President Obama, Cobbler and Gobbler are no longer among the living. Only one turkey pardoned by the president has lived to see a second Thanksgiving.
Tomorrow, on the day before Thanksgiving, the president will again pardon a National Thanksgiving Turkey and its alternate, this time from Minnesota. Their names are, adorably we guess, Popcorn and Caramel. Caramel, per the White House, is a male with a "quick" gobble who is into Lady Gaga. Popcorn, also a male, has a "proud strut," a "garbled" gobble, and likes himself some Beyonce.
America gets to choose which of the two gets the title of National Thanksgiving Turkey. Both will be pardoned. And after that, if history is precedent, those turkeys have two years left at best.