After Romney gained about 3 points over the weekend, Obama made gains in today’s Rasmussen and Gallup approval tracking polls, suggesting that Romney’s bounce had peaked and was beginning to fade. At least until Pew interrupted.

The possibility that Romney’s bounce was fading began when the Rasmussen and Gallup approval trackers dropped the first day of interviews following the debates and found Obama making clear gains, suggesting that Obama performed much better on Sunday than he did immediately after the debates. And both also showed Obama returning to post-DNC levels, as Obama averaged a .7 point lead in Rasmussen after the DNC; today it’s tied. Similarly, Gallup showed Obama’s approval averaging plus-4.8 points following the DNC, but today Gallup shows Obama’s approval rating at plus-7.

A turn back toward Obama was also consistent with PPP's tweets that their samples on Saturday and Sunday showed Obama performing at or near pre-debate levels in Wisconsin and Virginia. And, in absolute terms, Obama fared well in state polls released on Sunday or Monday—including leads in Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia—according to Rasmussen, PPP, and Ann Seltzer. The Iowa and Colorado polls were particularly noteworthy: They were conducted yesterday and found Obama performing better than their prior poll in September.

But then there was Pew.

Right when it looked like Romney's bounce was small and sliding back, Pew came out with a new poll showing Romney ahead by 4 points among likely voters. The new data has conservatives celebrating and liberals in a panic, and understandably so. Throughout the entire cycle, Pew has had a strong Obama-lean, making the result particularly surprising. And Pew Research has irreproachable credentials, both in terms of past results and methodology, so this is a very important and powerful data point in the direction of a Romney bounce.