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.

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

(MATTHEW GOTTLIEB)