Hats off to the singles

President Obama's slim lead over Republican rival Mitt Romney in the White House race is fueled by a broad marriage gap, with Obama enjoying a big advantage among single voters - particularly women, a Quinnipiac University poll found on Wednesday.

Obama leads among single voters by 54 percent to 34 percent, while married voters back Romney 51 percent to 38 percent, the poll found.

Obama has a huge advantage with single women, 60 percent to 31 percent, while Romney leads among married women 49 percent to 42 percent. Romney leads by 19 percentage points among married men, and Obama leads by 9 points among single men.