Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton currently match up with John McCain in a statistical tie for the general election race, according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll. Obama stacks up 47 percent to 46 percent against McCain while Clinton has a 49 percent to 47 percent edge. The margin of error is 3 points. Poll director Keating Holland says: “Clinton appears to do a little bit better than Obama among older voters, women, and self-identified Democrats against McCain; Obama’s numbers may be slightly better among younger voters and those who describe themselves as Republicans and Independents.” The projected closeness of the race generally squares with other polls.

In another survey this morning, Gallup says that McCain has the highest favorable ratings of any of the three. His favorable to unfavorable margin is 67 percent to 27 percent, Obama’s is 62 percent to 33 percent and Clinton’s is 53 percent to 44 percent. McCain has not enjoyed as high a favorable rating since he was in the middle of his first try for the Republican nomination in 2000.