A Washington Post – ABC survey just released has Senator Hillary Clinton leading nationally on the Democratic side, but with a surging Barack Obama now within striking distance. Clinton’s large national lead has evaporated amidst the tremendous bounce Obama has received from his Iowa win.

In the new poll, 42 percent of likely Democratic voters support Clinton (N.Y.), and 37 percent back Obama (Ill.). Clinton’s support is down 11 percentage points from a month ago, with Obama’s up 14. Former senator John Edwards (N.C.) held third place with 11 percent, followed by Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio) at 2 percent.

Senator John McCain has surged past a fading Rudy Guiliani on the Republican side, and now leads nationally for the first time.

Giuliani, who finished well back in both Iowa and New Hampshire, ranks fourth in the new poll at 15 percent. McCain, meanwhile, has more than double the support he had a month ago and now stands at 28 percent among likely GOP voters. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who scored a big victory in the Iowa caucuses, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the runner-up in both early contests, sit just above Giuliani, at 20 and 19 percent, respectively.

Former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) registers 8 percent, in single digits for the first time, with only half the support he had in early November. Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.), who got 10 percent of the votes in Iowa and 8 percent in New Hampshire, is at 3 percent; Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.) is at 2 percent.

Both McCain and Obama enjoy great support from independent voters. Clinton advisors see limits to this natural Obama advantage .

Clinton continues to lead Obama among Democrats, although by a slimmed-down, eight-point edge, while Obama has a 13-point edge among independents. Independent voters helped the senator from Illinois win Iowa and broke heavily for him in New Hampshire. Many of the upcoming contests limit participation to registered Democrats, which Clinton’s advisers see as an advantage.

And what does the survey say about the campaign theme of the day, change?

A central, pivotal debate among the Democratic aspirants has been about “change,” which was the top quality that voters in Iowa and New Hampshire said they were looking for in a candidate. By a decisive margin, Democrats in the new poll said they prioritize a new direction and new ideas over strength and experience, and about equal percentages indicated that Clinton and Obama would do the most to bring needed change to Washington.

But as he did in both early contests, Obama leads in this national poll among those seeking a fresh approach; he doubles up Clinton among these voters. By contrast, Clinton has a better than 2 to 1 advantage over Obama among those seeking strength and experience.

I have up to now given national polls short shrift due to what I believed was the critical importance of the early contests in shaping voter perceptions of candidate viability. With the primaries in both parties now moving to a more “national” stage these polls, in my view, are far more significant.

Read the Washington Post story here.