And so we’ve reached the mother of all metrics defining executive effectiveness – the 100th day in office for a new president. Although the number is inherently arbitrary, it does provide us all a moment to stop, step back, and evaluate what President Obama has accomplished over the past three months. Because of our 24-hour, hyperactive, and constantly refreshed sources of news, it is easy to get caught up in the short-term news cycle — swine flu actually isn’t the only thing worth talking about!

The 100 days benchmark provides a perfect opportunity to break out of that cycle.

Regardless of your views about his policies, when looking back over Obama’s brief tenure, it is remarkable how much he has undertaken in such a short time. He has pushed contentious legislation through Congress, embarked on a global diplomacy tour, unveiled an ambitious budget, reversed Bush policies on issues from torture to stem cell research, and changed course in the war on terror, all while trying to heal the ailing economy.

The speed at which Obama moved into action is perhaps the most impressive part of his presidency thus far. When he took office, he was confronted with a huge number of problems – a crumbling economy, two wars overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, an increasingly threatening Iran, and mountains of terrible Bush-era policies both on the domestic and foreign policy fronts. So he got right to work.

He quickly ordered the closing of Gitmo; repealed Bush’s block on federal funding for stem-cell research; pushed through a  $787 billion stimulus package to create jobs and increase demand; began to repair our relations abroad through his G20 and Latin America trips; smoothly handled the pirate hostage situation; and, most importantly, laid the groundwork for healthcare, energy policy, immigration, and education reform.

What a start.

Of course, there has also been some turbulence. Most of the problems have been minor – a poor vetting of cabinet candidates (remember all the tax troubles?), the recent idiotic Air Force One flyover – but there are a handful of serious issues.

The administration’s approach to the financial industry bailout has been ugly, coupling bad ideas with uncertain leadership. A big test in the next 100 days will be Geithner’s handling of the stress test results, which will be released on Friday.

The recently released torture memos have also generated a problem for Obama, who has taken heat from both the right and the left. Obama seems reluctant to do the right thing – prosecute those responsible for justifying and implementing an illegal (both under US and international law) torture policy.

But these issues are dwarfed by the giant steps Obama has taken in the right direction. He was elected on a platform of change. Thus far, he has delivered.

The obvious question to ask now is: what’s next? His major outline for the future comes in his budget, complete with an intellectually honest, transparent breakdown of costs. He will dramatically change our energy policy, dovetailing off the recent EPA decision, that will create thousands of jobs and dramatically reduce our dependence on oil. He will draft legislation for a badly needed overhaul of our health care system, finally making health insurance available to every American. He will further establish a progressive taxation system that stops leaving the lower- and middle-classes behind. He will reform the education system, rewarding teachers for good work and creating better curricula. And he will design a smart, practical immigration plan that avoids expensive and ineffective policies like mass deportation.

And he’ll have the help of a Democratic congress prepared to make this agenda happen (Arlen Specter’s departure from the GOP yesterday will certainly help).

At the same time, Obama will still be dealing with a painful recession and the need to be fiscally responsible. Swine flu could pose additional problems. But we never expected his Presidency to be an easy one – his task has been monumental and will continue to be so. But he has, in 100 days, skillfully handled many difficult issues and put the US on a progressive path to success.

Additional reading about the first 100 days:

Huffington Post

The Daily Beast

Politico

Talking Points Memo Slideshow

Photo courtesy of Flickr user violentz.