**100 Days
*McClatchy's Steve Thomma offers this take on Obama at 100. "He's putting his own style on the presidency. Opportunistic. Pragmatic. Confident. Deliberate. Polite to friend and foe alike. Partisan. Polarizing. A better talker than George W. Bush . A more disciplined manager than Bill Clinton."

*AP looks at Michelle Obama at 100 days, noting how she has built immense popularity by focusing on her role as mother. One year ago, she became a lightning rod for her comment during the campaign that for the first time in her adult life, "I am really proud of my country.

*Obama's latest average approval rating from RCP: 62.8/30.8. A Washington Post poll had his approval at 69.

*WaPo's Ruth Marcus writes that "the truly hard work of the Obama presidency lies ahead. As difficult as it was to get the stimulus package passed...Herding the cats on health care will be much harder, given the competing outside interests and inside demands. Passing a cap-and-trade plan to curb greenhouse gases, given the economic stakes and regional divisions, will make health care look simple."

**President Obama
*Robert Gibbs said the administration is "doing fine" without an HHS secretary during the flu outbreak. AP reports: "White House officials say they expect Sebelius to be confirmed shortly, given the urgency of the flu outbreak that started in Mexico and spread to the United States. They also say work at the departments is being done even though the top jobs have gone unfilled."

*New York Times: "Obama administration officials, alarmed at doctor shortages, are looking for ways to increase the supply of physicians to meet the needs of an aging population and millions of uninsured people who would gain coverage under legislation championed by the president."

*For the record, Obama's health is fine even after his trip to Mexico.

*Harry Reid's new book contains this tidbit, as Reid describes praising Obama after a speech. "Without the barest hint of braggadocio or conceit, and with what I would describe as deep humility, he said quietly: 'I have a gift, Harry.'"

*The Times also reports that the administration "is quietly pushing forward with efforts to reopen channels of communication with Cuba. ... Officials said informal meetings were being planned between the State Department and Cuban diplomats in the United States to determine whether the two governments could open formal talks on a variety of issues, including migration, drug trafficking and other regional security matters."

*The Washington Times reports that the administration "is rolling back rules requiring labor unions and their leaders to report information about their finances and compensation. The Labor Department noted in a recent disclosure that 'it would not be a good use of resources' to bring enforcement actions against union officials who do not comply with conflict of interest reporting rules passed in 2007."

*Politico notes how the White House has opened the door to celebrities. "The celebrity-politician dynamic has changed since Bubba schmoozed - It's not just fun and games and snoozes in the Lincoln Bedroom anymore." Brookings' Darrell West notes that "the celebrity engagement under Clinton centered on fundraising," while "Obama seems more open to using celebrities for policy formulation and getting ideas."

**Congress
*The Budget: "Lawmakers and Congressional aides spent the weekend putting on paper the details of the budget agreement worked out late last week between Congressional leaders and the administration represented by Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, and budget director Peter R. Orszag. The leadership would like the members of the formal House-Senate conference committee to officially sign off on the agreement today and be ready for votes in the House Tuesday and the Senate Wednesday," NYT reports.

*"House and Senate Republicans intend to ramp up their attack of the Democratic-sponsored clean-energy legislation this week in an effort to brand the measure a 'national energy tax,'" The Hill reports.

*Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), in Politico: "We must reengage and begin a new chapter in the history of bilateral relations with both the Cuban government and the Cuban people."

*Roll Call: "The need for new consumer protections amid the financial crisis has plenty of currency on Capitol Hill, but the House and Senate are on different tracks that suggest a final legislative answer may be a long way off."

*"Nancy Pelosi didn't cry foul when the Bush administration briefed her on "enhanced interrogation" of terror suspects in 2002, but her team was locked and loaded to counter hypocrisy charges when the "torture" memos were released last week," Politico reports.

**Campaign Stuff
*Bill Clinton is hitting the Va. gubernatorial trail with Terry McAuliffe today, and Washington Examiner reports on how Clinton is helping in other ways: "A network of donors who aided Hillary Clinton's unsuccessful presidential campaign is shoveling six-figure donations into Terry McAuliffe's gubernatorial war chest, taking advantage of no-limit giving rules to pump up his bid for Virginia's top job."

*New York Times: "In a series of phone calls and private meetings with top Democratic officials, major donors, leading business executives and union leaders, Mr. Paterson has apologized for his administration's mistakes, asked for their support and insisted that he intends to run and win in 2010, according to those who have been on the receiving end of Mr. Paterson's efforts. ... Mr. Paterson's aggressive behind-the-scenes effort -- coming 17 months before the 2010 primary -- is remarkable simply because it is necessary."

*The Dallas Morning News finds that in the Texas gubernatorial race, Rick Perry has actually raised more money from Washington than Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. "Perry has been able to raise far more than Hutchison overall, because federal campaigns have limits on individual donations. ... But the governor's financial support from the Beltway undercuts efforts to distance himself from the nation's capital by painting himself as the candidate of Texas-style government and Hutchison as the candidate of Washington, which recently landed Perry in the national spotlight amid talk of Texas secession."

*Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is getting more criticism at home, with the St. Pete Times saying he's "remained largely hands-off, and it has had an effect on his agenda. ... After seven weeks into the legislative session, nearly every initiative Crist had advanced for passage has disappeared from the calendar or is on life support."

*WSJ, on NY-20: "The fact that the race was so close shows that, had Republicans run a credible candidate, they had a chance to send a message to Blue Dog Democrats in Congress that Mr. Obama's agenda is less popular than he is. Mr. Boehner would do better to stop spinning defeat and start looking for candidates who believe in something beyond their own careers."

*Minneapolis Star Tribune poll: "Nearly two-thirds of Minnesotans surveyed think Norm Coleman should concede the U.S. Senate race to Al Franken, but just as many believe the voting system that gave the state its longest running election contest needs improvement."

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad