Talks with Rubio supporters — or near-supporters, since many said they were only 98 percent sure, leaving themselves just a little room to change their minds — showed again how the concerns of media commentators are sometimes far from the minds of actual voters. Is Rubio a robot? Did his debate flub show he is not ready for the nation’s highest office? It’s not that supporters ignored the questions; they considered them and decided that other things, like his position on abortion, were more important.

A walk around the rally also showed that personal touches matter, especially when a candidate has a spate of negative media coverage to overcome. Rubio often tells audiences that after his remarks he’ll be happy to stay around as long as anyone wants to talk to him. The importance of doing that became clear in Nashua Monday night with John and Margie Sengstaken, of Hollis, who came in with a favorable attitude toward Rubio but had not yet fully decided.

“I went into the debate leaning towards Rubio, and honestly I came out of the debate feeling ummmm, I don’t know,” Margie told me.

Then she came to the rally and stayed afterward to meet Rubio.