The Authenticity Gap

How badly is Fred Thompson doing?  So badly in Iowa that he is considered less honest about his beliefs than Mitt Romney.  When asked whether a candidate says what he believes, 56% say yes for Romney, while only 53% say the same for Thompson.  How poorly must your campaign be going when you are viewed as more of a panderer than the monumental fraud himself?  Wasn’t Fred’s appeal supposed to be that he was the straight-talking, no-nonsense Tennessean?  He can’t persuade anybody that he’s really motivated, and he can’t even persuade all that many people that he’s sincere.  Does he have anything left to offer?