There are certain traditions every U.S. president must observe.
Every year, they have to pardon a turkey from Thanksgiving, while everyone the turkey loves gets a duck and a chicken stuffed inside of them.
They have to give a State of the Union Address, even though they are only constiutionally required to write it down. (Kinda like people who read their blogs to you.)
They have to pardon Richard Nixon at the end of their term. (Gerald Ford started that one.)
And, of course, they have to restart Mideast peace talks.