In Iowa last weekend, the roots of her campaign’s see-saw were clear: It was hard for voters to see Kamala Harris the prosecutor. Harris the presidential candidate was meandering and often indirect, struggling to present a strong argument for her own campaign.

Sometimes she captured crowds with a rousing speech; at other times, she circled back to stock phrases that fell flat with audiences, echoing many other candidates in the crowded Democratic field. She offered long, winding answers to questions. She seemed, occasionally, to teeter on exhaustion.

“The first time I saw her was before she was going to run, when she was asking questions in a hearing. And she was so powerful, I said, ‘I want that woman to run!’” said Berleen Wobeter, a former educator who came from Toledo, Iowa to see Harris in Cedar Rapids, an hour’s drive away. “Somehow her power doesn’t seem to be coming off like it should. And it makes me sad, very sad.”

What would Wobeter want Harris to do differently?

“I don’t know — what brings that prosecutor out in her,” Wobeter said. “Whatever it is, I’d like to see that.”