In the latest Marist College poll of Republican voters in New Hampshire, Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee are tied for fourth at 7 percent apiece. Fred Thompson languishes in sixth place with 5 percent. A Boston Globe survey has him at 3 percent.

It’s highly unlikely that any of these men will become president or even win the GOP nomination. But Paul, the libertarian Congressman from Texas, and Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, are doing this right. They’re campaigning hard and smart, treating voters with respect, advancing ideas that are fresh and fearless.

Thompson, the former senator and current actor, is doing exactly the opposite. He’s strolling for the nomination, not running, and treating voters with contempt. He has nothing much to say and says it poorly. Every reviewer agrees: This campaign movie is a bust, headed straight for the video store.

One senior Republican strategist told us recently that Thompson was running largely to satisfy the ambitions of his young wife, Jeri, his closest adviser. The explanation makes sense because nothing else does. Yes, many Republicans are unhappy with the rest of the field, and yes, they are terrified of Hillary Clinton in the White House. But why should Thompson be taken seriously as an alternative?