STUNNING – AT 9:31 A.M. ET:  The RealClearPolitics average of polls this morning has Hillary Clinton up only 2.2 points over Donald Trump.  A few weeks ago she was up between 5 and 6 points. 

But the election is a week away, a lifetime in politics.  Anything can happen.

The most dramatic reverse is in the Washington Post/ABC tracker, which, for the first time since May, shows trump ahead.  From ABC News: 

Strong enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton has ebbed since the renewal of the FBI’s email investigation.

While vote preferences have held essentially steady, she’s now a slim point behind Donald Trump -- a first since May -- in the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates.

Forty-six percent of likely voters support Trump in the latest results, with 45 percent for Clinton. Taking it to the decimal for illustrative purposes, a mere .7 of a percentage point divides them. Third-party candidate Gary Johnson has 3 percent, a new low; Jill Stein, 2 percent.

Trump now leads Clinton by 8 points in the share of voters who are very enthusiastic about their choice as of Friday. But, compared to past elections it’s low for both of them –- 53 percent for Trump, 45 percent for Clinton.

Strong enthusiasm for Clinton has lost 7 points since the start of tracking, especially Friday through Sunday. This is possibly an after-effect of the renewed controversy over her use of a private email server while secretary of state. Trump’s strong enthusiasm has held steady in tracking, which started Oct. 20.

COMMENT:  It will be enthusiasm we'll be looking at as the election approaches.  The Democrats have a much better ground game than the GOP has, but that can be negated by lack of enthusiasm.  You'll notice that the Dems are trying to energize their base, even going so far as to suggest, without using the exact language, that Hillary Clinton is being treated by law enforcement the way blacks are treated.  Not a classy approach.

It's very hard actually to measure enthusiasm.  It wouldn't so critical if one candidate were 15 points ahead.  But this contest is racing to what could be a dead heat in the polls on election day.

November 1,  2016