The Buzz Log What’s hot on Yahoo! Buzz™ (and why)...

No other presidency has undergone such scrutiny within its first 100 days, for no other reason than blogs and technologies like Facebook and Twitter didn't exist before.

Barack Obama deployed the Internet as a community organizing tool during his campaign, and later as a direct channel to the White House. The Web hasn't always loved him back, monitoring every headline and hiccup of his administration and sometimes operating as a perpetual-motion rumor mill.

But people have also done a more personal dissection of No. 44, from speculating on the vacancy of the first pet position to noting the president's left-handedness after he signed that first flurry of executive orders. In gleaning searches from the first 100 days, Obama emerges as a father figure of sorts...at least, for those seeking someone to make America's problems all go away.

Obama as Dad?
Professorial in manner and even-handed in demeanor ("Let me be clear" is one of his favorite refrains), Obama lends a paternal tilt that contrasts with his predecessor's folksier style. His much-anticipated inauguration speech delivered a buckle-down sobriety instead of high-flowing rhetoric. Comparisons to the nation's forefathers (especially Abraham Lincoln) hadn't hurt. What is clear, however, is that many wanted him to take action immediately following Election Day: Insistent searches checked daily for what actions he would take to fix the economy, even as he cautioned that there could only be one president at a time. 

Beyond that is how many personal details of his life have resonated with Searchers. His daughters are young, younger than when only child Chelsea Clinton came to the White House in 1993. This youthful family has in turn spurred familial questions in Search: What transitional home did the Obamas stay in before the White House move? What school would the girls attend? How did the Easter White House egg roll go?

Obama as Celebrity?
Following Obama's November victory, an unprecedented fury of demand erupted for relics bearing his image (such as the iconic hope poster). Any idolatry has turned out to be incredibly pragmatic: Besides searches on foreign diplomacy and stimulus packages, people have wondered about his gray hair, his NCAA picks, and an Obama chia pet.

True, as a former rival once tried to highlight, such trivia smacks of an Obama celebritization. Look through People magazine's archive, for instance, and one finds that Obama references have already surpassed Bush articles. Celebrity reporting itself has become domesticated, with coverage extended to pregnancy rumors, family vacations, and the like. Having the ultimate first family fits well in that groove.

Obama as Leader?
The latest AP poll notes that 48% of Americans feel the country's headed in the right direction—a 31-point rise since October. Not a majority, but not bad considering the last time people felt this good was in 2004, and that had been a blip of optimism.

And actually, it's pretty good considering the renewed vigor the populace continues to have in the political process, whether tuning live in to his town halls and State of the Union addresses or going online to dissect his every word. Perhaps No. 44's biggest accomplishment isn't how many followers he has or how high his approval ratings are, but how he has kept a nation of people engaged in their own dominion.

Be sure to look out for a Buzz Log month-to-month rundown of the Barack Obama's First 100 through people's Web searches: January, February, March and April.