President Obama spared two farm-raised turkeys in a White House Rose Garden ceremony today, fulfilling a presidential tradition that dates back to Thanksgiving 1989. The birds, named Cobbler and Gobbler, are both 19-week-old, 40-pound turkeys that—had they not be plucked from a Shenandoah Valley farm—would surely be covered in some kind of succulent brine.

Instead, Obama gave the official pardon to Cobbler, a bird that according to some Facebook promotion, responded well to Carly Simon’s “You’re so Vain.”

Obama used his Thanksgiving-themed remarks to get in a dig about his re-election earlier this month. “They say that life is all about second chances and this November I can’t agree more,” he said.

And though Cobbler got the fancy documentation, its counterpart, Gobbler, will also be spared the knife. Both birds will spend the rest of their lives on exhibit at President George Washington’s estate in Mount Vernon, Va. Cobbler, though, will first be used in a “Christmas at Mount Vernon” exhibit.

And though neither Cobbler nor Gobbler will be eaten tomorrow, it’s quite possible neither turkey will see another Thanksgiving. One of the birds pardoned in 2011 nearly made it, but died Monday. Turkeys raised for eating are far larger and shorter lived than their free-roaming counterparts.