This is probably why he scores so high in the polls even though he has made no formal announcement of his candidacy.

I thought David Brody, in his review of Fred’s speech last night, said it best: “He’s a conservative’s conservative with an ‘aw shucks’ charm who comes across as a regular guy. That will resonate with people across the country.” And it’s true. I think he’ll get a lot of votes for the conservative party that would otherwise go to the liberals should he decide not to run.

I find that people will settle on sincerity even if they don’t agree with a candidate politically. After all, there is no one that will mirror all our views on all the topics, so every candidate comes with compromises. It’s just a matter of who you can relate to and who you think you can trust, and I think Fred Thompson scores high marks in both of these regards.