ARNOLD , Missouri -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- On his 100th day in office , President Obama said Wednesday that he was `` pleased with the progress we 've made but not satisfied . '' Obama marked his 100th day in office Wednesday with a town hall meeting and later a news conference . `` I 've come back to report to you , the American people , that we have begun to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off , and we 've begun the work of remaking America , '' the president said at a town hall meeting in a high school gymnasium in Arnold , a St. Louis suburb . `` I 'm confident in the future , but not I 'm not content with the present , '' he said . `` You know the progress comes from hard choices and hard work , not miracles . I 'm not a miracle worker , '' he said . Obama acknowledged challenges of `` unprecedented size and scope , '' including the recession . These challenges , he said , could not be met with `` half measures . '' `` They demand action that is bold and sustained . They call on us to clear away the wreckage of a painful recession , But also , at the same time , lay the building blocks for a new prosperity . And that 's the work that we 've begun over these first 100 days , '' he said . He responded to critics who say he is trying to do too much as he works to address the recession as well as health care , energy and education . `` There 's no mystery to what we 've done ; the priorities that we 've acted upon were the things that we said we 'd do during the campaign , '' he said , prompting loud applause . The president made an opening statement that lasted about 20 minutes before taking questions from the audience . The last question was from a fourth-grade girl who asked about the administration 's environmental policies . Later Wednesday , Obama will hold a prime-time news conference in the East Room of the White House . Leading up to the date , White House aides had labeled the 100th day as a `` Hallmark '' holiday . `` They do n't mean anything , '' quipped one aide , `` but you have to observe them . '' More than six in 10 Americans approve of the job Obama is doing as president , a recent poll of polls shows . According to a CNN Poll of Polls compiled early Wednesday , 63 percent say they approve of how Obama is handling his duties . CNN 's Ed Henry contributed to this report .