More Poll Numbers

September 22, 2008

New York, NY - The Diageo/Hotline Daily Tracker Poll shows a 5-point gain for the Obama-Biden ticket after a weekend in which the head-to-head match-up was at a statistical tie.

In today's Poll, Obama-Biden is at 47% and McCain-Palin is at 42%, with 9% of voters undecided.

General Election Ballot: McCain-Palin v. Obama-Biden*

News of a government bailout of Wall Street last week did not abate voters' concerns over the economy. The Diageo/Hotline Daily Tracker Poll continues to show a record high in voters' view that the economy is the top issue facing the country, with an 11-point jump since the September 18 Poll.

Top Issue Facing the Country: The Economy*

With regard to perceived performance on the economy, McCain continues to close in on Obama's lead, which has decreased from a 5-point lead in the September 18 Poll, to a 1-point advantage in today's Poll, (44% - 43%).

Who would do Best Job Handling the Economy?*

In terms of perceived performance on other issues, McCain maintains his new lead over Obama on managing America's energy policies, (44% - 42%), and continues to rank better in perceived performance on national security, (54% - 37%). On the other hand, Obama has significantly widened his lead on perceived performance on healthcare from a 9-point difference in the September 18 Poll, to a 16-point lead in today's Poll, (50% - 34%).

Looking at reported enthusiasm for their candidates, there has been little movement across parties, with the exception of Independents, whose enthusiasm for their candidate dropped last week and has slightly bounced back in today's Poll.

Enthusiastically Support Candidate*

While McCain continues to perform better than Obama in perceptions of his preparedness to lead, the Democratic Presidential candidate has slightly closed the gap from the end of last week, from a 17-point difference in the September 19 Poll, to a 10-point difference in today's, (49% - 39%).

* data presented in charts based on rolling 3-day average of 900+ interviews concluded the previous day (based on at least 300 interviews conducted daily).