With four weeks until election day, Bill Thompson has pulled within eight points of Michael Bloomberg, according to a SurveyUSA poll.

Thompson leads among voters under 50. He also leads in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Meanwhile, a recent NY Times article speaks to the issue on which Thompson can win -- term limits. It's why several people lost their bid for a third term, why Speaker Christine Quinn got barely over 50% in a three-way race, and why others survived a challenge with less than 50%.

Since he signed the new law, Bloomberg has repeatedly claimed that the City Council changed term limits, as if he had nothing to do with it. Coincidentally, he signed the law on November 3, exactly one year before this year's election day. (The timing was designed to take focus away from what the Campaign Finance Board was doing to help Quinn, but that's another story.)

Bill Thompson has to hit Bloomberg hard on term limits.

The big reason given by Quinn and others in defense of extending term limits is to "give voters choice." The idea is that the voters should be able to choose to keep the incumbent. But all the extension did was to deny voters choice. At least three people didn't run for mayor this year -- Quinn, Rep. Anthony Weiner, and businessman John Catsimatidis. In Queens, where I live, at least three people chose not to run for Borough President. In City Council districts all over the city, people chose not to run against incumbents who ran for a third term (including one person in Quinn's district).

In other words, the voters had fewer choices because the mayor and City Council overrode the choice of the people.

And New Yorkers are still angry over this power grab. If Bill Thompson comes out strong on this issue (after all, he chose to forgo a third term), he can win; if not, he probably can't.