Obama uses 22 pens to sign Bill
Keeps one for himself and gives away 19 as mementos
Los Angeles : How many pens does it take to sign a Bill? Twenty-two to be exact.
At least that's how many President Barack Obama used to sign the health care legislation on Tuesday, continuing a long-standing White House tradition.
The pens are "a way of giving a very meaningful memento to the people who played a significant role in passing the legislation", Mark Peterson, a professor of public policy and political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, said.
Obama kept a pen for himself after signing the bill and 19 pens were given out as mementos. Two will go to his presidential archives.
This one's for mum
Eleven-year-old Marcelas Owens, who stood quietly next to President Obama on Tuesday as he signed the long-debated legislation, kept the jitters at bay, friends said, by pretending his mother was sitting in the front row.
She wasn't. She died three years ago of pulmonary hypertension, largely untreated because she lost her health insurance when she lost her job.
