Thanksgiving

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush used the annual Thanksgiving turkey- pardoning rite Wednesday to roast the bitter campaign for the White House, jokingly recalling fund-raising disputes, attack ads and a polarizing political movie. "Now's the time for healing," he said, as he ceremonially spared two birds.

The winning "candidates" in his satirical rendition of the presidential campaign were Biscuits and Gravy, turkeys raised in Mathias, W.Va. Their names came out on top on an online contest.

"It was a close race. You might say it was neck and neck," Bush said. He spoke in the Rose Garden during a rare joint appearance with Vice President Dick Cheney.

"It came down to a few battleground states. It was a tough contest, and it turned out some 527 organizations got involved, including Barnyard Animals for Truth," Bush said, mocking the free-spending independent groups like Swiftboat Veterans for Truth known as 527s. The group raised questions about Democrat John Kerry's service in the Vietnam War.

"There was a scurrilous film that came out, 'Fahrenheit 375 Degrees At 10 Minutes Per Pound,'" he said, panning "Fahrenheit 9/11,"