Romney sees a post-debate bump in the polls

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney enjoyed a bump in the first polls conducted after his widely praised debate performance on Wednesday night. 

The Republican challenger is within striking distance of President Barack Obama in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday. The President leads Romney in the online survey 47 percent to 45 percent. 

"Romney's performance in the debate I think has improved his share of the vote for now … It's a significant change from where we were a couple of weeks ago," Ipsos pollster Julia Clark told Reuters.

Despite improved numbers, the debate did not push Romney over the edge towards winning. 

"I would say that if the debate was a game-changer, we would see Romney continue to make gains," Clark said. "He's narrowed the race but he doesn't seem to be overtaking Obama."

Gallup’s daily tracking poll has Romney picking up two points, putting him within three points of Obama (46-49). Rasmussen was the only poll to have Romney edge out the President with 49-47, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

“Bounces are called bounces because they don’t last forever,” Mr. Rasmussen told the Christian Science Monitor.

“We don’t know if this will disappear, or if they will build on it, or what other news will do to the race.”

National polls are a good indicator of the electoral mood but the key polls to watch, however, are still the swing states. 

A CNN 'Poll of Polls' taken before the debate in Colorado, indicates Obama with 49 percent support to Romney's 46 percent in the state.

In Ohio, CNN's poll, which averages three Ohio polls of likely voters in the last two weeks, indicates Obama at 52 percent and Romney at 43 percent.