truman, that s not true, he ate them. the first official george h.w. bush in 1989. john f. kennedy kept his as a pet, and 1998, clinton let his mingle with the press, but gerald ford greeted his bird in 1975 with a frozen butter ball on the table. that s quite a staredown. and in 1981, when asked what he was going to do with his pardonee, ronald reagan said eat him. all right. and george w. bush had an unforgettable encounter when they snapped this picture of the turkey poking below the belt at the president. john adams wanted the eagle instead. still, come dinner time tomorrow, it s safe to say for millions of americans, this bird is indeed the word. stuffed a lot of info in there.