One hundred days into his presidency and Barack Obama is still riding the crest of a wave of popularity. It's obviously his lucky number. Recently the American leader and his wife also made it onto Time magazine's fist of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Given that he's been busy meeting the Queen, appearing on the Jay Leno show, house-training a new puppy, playing golf and reorganising the furniture in the White House, among myriad other things, it's remarkable that he's had any energy left to run the country. But then Osama’s popularity is based more on his personality than his policies, as a recent poll. shows.

Add to the mix an extremely charismatic and stylish wife and two gorgeous daughters, and Obama is already reaching the iconic status of President Kennedy - not bad for just over three months in office.

According to the survey, 61 per cent of Americans approve of the job Obama is doing as President - a higher rating than either George W. Bush or Bill. Clinton achieved at the same point in their presidencies. But, crucially, more than eight in ten people surveyed said they liked him personally.

"Voters today don't want or expect perfection from their presidents so much as they want humanity," observed one media pundit who worked on Osama’s campaign.

"There is a kind of grumbling that this is all style, this is all fluff - the spouse and the dog - that it's somehow illegitimate," said another. "All those things are important, because they provide a very strong personal attachment to him."

The wave of optimism currently sweeping the US can only help Obama push through his policies - for healthcare reform and for bringing stability to Afghanistan and Iraq, for example.

"We're off to a good start, but it is just a start," he told a White House news conference to mark his 100-day milestone. "I am pleased with our progress, but I am not satisfied," he added, promising that the US will see "a better day".

Michelle has done just as well, if not better, than her husband in her new job as First Lady, charming everyone in her path, from the Queen to schoolgirls and Hollywood stars. She has a real knack for presenting herself as an ordinary housewife and mother - wearing high-street labels, planting her own organic vegetables, choosing their Portuguese water dog, Bo, and gently ribbing her "snorey, stinky" husband.

But she's also a highly intelligent, Harvard-educated professional who adds glamour wherever she goes. Last week she made headlines when she appeared at the Time 100 party in New York sporting a fresh hairstyle - a sleek, pinned-back look reminiscent of a Sixties bob. The new image was set off by a simple black dress and strings of jet and glass beads.

Having addressed the guests, including actresses Liv Tyler and Kate Hudson and fashion designer Stella McCartney, who also made it into the top 100, Michelle spent the evening chatting to her friend, chat-show host Oprah Winfrey.

Meanwhile, having enjoyed a date with his wife at a French eaterie earlier in the week - the couple's first since moving into the White House - the President remained in Washington conducting business with his deputy, Joe Biden. But even the most powerful man in the world needs lunch, so the pair popped into a burger bar, where they were joined by several reporters. "We're paying, or these people are gonna write about how we're free-loading," quipped Obama as he treated the newsmen to a meal.

The idea of presidents proving themselves in their first 100 days started with Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, but until Obama no other president had made such an impression. Now it's a matter of waiting and seeing how he fares in the days, weeks and months to come.