Well, the first major post-debate poll is out, and it has Kerry leaping ahead of Bush. Remember, Newsweek was one of the polls which had Bush out in front by double digits, as they disproportionately weight their polls towards Republican voters. Their last poll had Bush ahead 52% to Kerry’s 41%.

And now? Kerry leads with 47% to Bush’s 45%, a huge change from before–and remember, the poll is still weighted towards Republicans. It will be very interesting indeed to see what one of the more balanced polls will demonstrate in the next few days. And if one of them has Kerry with a significant lead, will all the news services trumpet it as much as they trumpeted Bush’s lead before?

On a side not, it seems that Newsweek is also paying attention to the blogs. Soon after Newsweek reported that Bush’s lead had “all but evaporated,” Josh Marshall jumped on them for inaccuracy: according to their poll, Bush’s lead had entirely evaporated., and Kerry led by two points. And soon after, Newsweek, in an update, changed the headline to say that Bush’s lead “has evaporated.” Not as egregious as FOX’s errors and later revisions, but it does emphasize how much clout bloggers are beginning to have as counterweights to the major news sites.