The Early Line: Diageo/Hotline Tracking Poll

Obama/Biden 48%
McCain/Palin 41%
Undec 9%

- Status BO. Today's Diageo/Hotline tracking poll remains unchanged from yesterday's release -- Obama again tied his record 7% advantage.

- Third Alert. McCain's lead among white women is just a third of his margin one week ago. McCain now leads white women by just 3%; in the survey completed 9/27, he led the group by 9%.

- Hard To Handle. Over the last week, Obama's double-digit leads on handling of key issues have eroded. The Dem nominee now leads by 5% on the economy and 2% on energy policy. In last Sun.'s release, he led both by 11%.

Today's Diageo/Hotline tracking poll, conducted 10/2-4 by FD, surveyed 915 LVs and has a margin of error of +/- 3.2%. Party ID Breakdown for the sample is 41%D, 36%R, 19%I.