Dick, I think to summarize the whole thing as a difference in "trim drag" might be over-simplifying things a bit.

While carrying any amount of trim (ie: displaced control surface to correct an unwanted tendency of the aircraft) would contribute to total drag, the real loss of efficiency in my mind is directly related to the increased AOA of the main wing which is the result of increased AERODYNAMIC loads on the plane. You can add gobs of weight, or...simply move the CG far enough forward and the behavior of the airplane is much the same.

I fly large aircraft as a career, and can attest to the greatly added muscle power it takes to flare that old beast with a forward (but still in the envelope!) CG. It takes a lot of extra hoo-hah on that tail to balance things out so you don't drive the nose 8 feet into the pavement.

Rant concluded.