The difference is Fred is an actor. When Fred speaks he as a politician he is genuine. Romney is an actor when he is running for office. Romney can be a liberal’s liberal one election and a staunch conservative the next.
When one consciously puts forth a “presidential” image, you declare it faked. When the other does, you declare it genuine. The truth is, you don’t know either one personally enough to know if their public face is genuine or not. You’re just projecting your own biases and desires. You WANT one to be genuine and the other a fake, to shore up your own support choice.
Well, what if they are BOTH being honest in their position statements? Or what if they're BOTH simply saying what they think people want to hear? You can't tell that by looking at them.