Talking the ball and going home?

RAND PAUL HANGING OUT WITH TREVOR NOAH INSTEAD OF HIS FELLOW REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES

Rand Paul, as unhappy as he is of not making the top seven in the two polls that determined the lineup for last night's Fox Business press conference - essentially an Eliminator Seven round - decided instead that he would not participate in the dinnertime press conference at the Casa del Ray.

This forced me to consider the question:  Is he reminding me of a golfer who is 2-3 strokes behind the cut line early in his second round decide to take the clubs and go home, and withdraw instead of attempting to improve his game and attempt to go on a roll from the outside looking in to where by the time his 36th hole is finished, he is on the positive side of the cut line, potentially even looking at making a run for the lead by moving day or in the final round?

If he went in the dinner time press conference and scores huge, he could easily make a return to the main stage for the next crucial press conference.  But no, he prefers to take his ball and go home, not trying to work his way back to the premiership.  Is this the type of leader we can afford?