Biden’s campaign is running on fumes. A candidate with all the trappings of a traditional frontrunner—the long résumé, party backing, relevant experience, and steady poll numbers—suddenly is on electoral life support. A fourth-place showing in the Iowa Caucus days ago has raised the stakes for the upcoming primary. But even Biden himself seems to be grappling with the likelihood that another humiliation is on the horizon. His first answer during Friday night’s debate was devoted, in part, to explaining how he was likely to lose on Tuesday.

For a candidate staring down another major setback—one that could irrevocably derail his presidential ambitions—one would expect Biden to be infused with a sense of urgency and desperation. But none of that was apparent on Saturday morning. And the lethargy that has come to define his campaign has begun to have an effect on voter perceptions.

“I had a hunch, watching the debate last night, that maybe, just maybe, his heart was not in it,” said Jim Barry, who had come to New Hampshire from Buffalo, New York. “This was a call to duty for him. But it doesn’t feel like he actually wants it.”

“2008 was his time,” said Kevin Both, who also was from New York, and who had traveled there with Barry. “Now, there’s not much gas left in the tank.”