Then why is Fred Thompson moving up in the polls without spending a dime?
Because he is picking up the "anybody but Rudy" crowd and is well-known, albeit NOT for his political experience.
To win the nomination he has to win BIG on February 5. That's a lot of large states that will require money and organization to win. Many of those large states will be good ones for Rudy.
Fred really needed to start working on this after he left the Senate. Instead he's ten months out and still not in and not ready.