It's Day 100: Roll Out the Clichés

President enjoying 'Reagan-like' levels of popularity as early milestone is reached

(NEWSER) - Today marks President Obama's hundredth day in the job and he's more popular than his two immediate predecessors were at this point, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. Over half of those polled said Obama is off to a good—or great—start, 61% approve of the job he is doing as president, and 64% see him in a favorable light. More»

Look out for these White House plugs next Wednesday

(NEWSER) - President Obama's savvy advisers may scoff at his 100th day as a "Hallmark holiday," but they're happy to tell reporters how to cover it. Politico lists what the White House is spinning:

• Obama's not overambitious, just a promise-keeper—right down to that new pup.
• His broader vision is unclear because it's so different.
• He's in touch with the people.

With so many vacancies, the president has an opportunity

(NEWSER) - Peter Orszag, Christina Romer, Larry Summers, Rahm Emanuel, Jim Jones: A lot of people have left the Obama administration, but that could be a good thing. The president has a successful team—but he needs “a new agenda, and new ideas,” writes Ezra Klein in Newsweek . He offers four people the White House needs:

• Mark McClellan: He led the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for George W. Bush and helped implement the Medicare prescription-drug benefit, meaning he has “credibility with Republicans on health care and experience making a major health-care initiative work.”

And it was months before he considered Senate race

(NEWSER) - The White House today beat back allegations of shady backroom dealings with Colorado Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff, saying that yes, administration officials talked with him about a job, but only because he'd applied for one. In the administration's version, Romanoff applied for a job at the US Agency for International Development right after Obama was elected, and later “followed up by phone.” More»

White House proposal aims to unite Dems ahead of summit

(NEWSER) - The White House is crafting its own health care bill aimed at uniting House and Senate Democrats ahead of a bipartisan summit next week. The president hopes to avoid a Republican filibuster by attaching it to a budget bill, using the procedure called budget reconciliation. However, congressional Democrats have yet to see the bill—and it may be a tough sell. “There has not been a collaborative process,” a Dem tells the New York Times . "This is very much a White House proposal.” More»