The Early Line: Diageo/Hotline Tracking Poll

Obama/Biden 50%
McCain/Palin 43%
Undec 5%

- Meet The New Boss. Today's Diageo/Hotline matchup is identical to yesterday's release. The nat'l head-to-head remains Obama 50%, McCain 43% with 5% undec.

- Get Back. After McCain made some gains this week among men, Obama is back on top. The Dem nominee now leads men by 4%, not far off his 2% margin one week ago (in the surveyed completed 10/17). Among women, Obama maintains last week's double-digit lead.

- 7:5 & Pick'ens. The IL Sen. has opened up a sizeable lead on who would best manage U.S. energy policies. Obama leads 51-36%; one week ago, he led 45-40%. Obama's 15% margin is his largest lead on energy since the survey completed 10/10.

Today's Diageo/Hotline tracking poll, conducted 10/22-24 by FD, surveyed 869 LVs and has a margin of error of +/- 3.3%. Party ID Breakdown for the sample is 41%D, 37%R, 18%I.

Look for full results in Monday's Latest Edition and checkout Keys To The White House at any time to see how Obama and McCain are doing among key demographic groups.