The Candidate:Ron Paul

The Play: Stepping off the campaign trail into "The Tonight Show"

The Strategy: Mr. Paul is shaking fewer hands these days. He held just two public events this week and two last week, according to his website, when nominating contests were scheduled in six states and Puerto Rico. By contrast, Rick Santorum has held 34 events over the two-week period, Newt Gingrich 26 and Mitt Romney 17. Ahead of this week's primary in Illinois, which offered one of the largest delegate caches so far, Mr. Paul made a single appearance in the state.

People wanting to hear from the Texas congressman had better luck turning to NBC, where he could be found Tuesday on Jay Leno's show. There, Mr. Paul made headlines for describing Secret Service protection as "a form of welfare" for candidates.

"He's been doing events," said Paul campaign spokesman Gary Howard. "Everybody's been complaining about the light schedule. That's just his schedule. He has a full-time job back in Washington."