Persuasion and Presence

After reflecting on the primaries that have already occurred, I am beginning to make a connection between Persuasion and Presence. Consider the following:

• Rudy Giuliani left every state but Florida, and lost them all (source; source; source; source)
• Hillary Clinton all but left South Carolina to her husband and she lost miserably (source; source; source)
• Mike Huckabee left Wisconsin right before the primary to go to the Grand Cayman (this is not a typo...he really did go to the Grand Cayman; source: NY Times) and he lost
  
• Mike Huckabee left Michigan early and lost
  
• Fred Thompson left New Hampshire early and lost
• John McCain abandoned Iowa and lost
  

Now, one could argue that correlation and causation are being confused in my argument and perhaps there is some truth to this. Perhaps the correlation is the result of a candidate who, after campaigning hard in a state, realizes that he is going to lose so he pulls out. But, I do believe that there is a subtle persuasive message that is sent to voters when a candidate decided to not spend time in a state, especially when other candidates are still campaigning hard.