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New AP poll:

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry took the lead over President George W. Bush among likely voters nationwide in an Associated Press-Ipsos Public Affairs poll, erasing the edge Bush held two weeks ago.

Half of 944 likely voters surveyed Oct. 4-6 said they would vote for Kerry if the election were held now, compared with 46 percent who backed Bush, the AP reported. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In an AP-Ipsos poll conducted Sept. 20-22, Bush led Kerry 52 percent to 45 percent. Since then, the two candidates met in their first debate, on Sept. 30.

So that's an 11-point bounce from the debate (down seven to up four). And that's before the domestic policy debate, which will be held tomorrow.