Obama Patent reform
No, this is not from a misplaced episode of the West Wing.

In a new book 'Ten Letters' about the ten letters from Americans that President Obama reads every day, written by WaPo reporter Eli Saslow, this touching detail is revealed: Obama sometimes writes personal checks to Americans who are struggling.

"It's not something I should advertise, but it has happened."

Obama goes on:

"Some of these letters you read and you say, 'Gosh, I really want to help this person, and I may not have the tools to help them right now...And then you start thinking about the fact that for every one person that wrote describing their story, there might be another hundred thousand going through the same thing. So there are times when I'm reading the letters and I feel pained that I can't do more, faster, to make a difference in their lives."