The last few months, DeSantis reports, have been a significant success. He won the endorsement of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and then Iowa kingmaker Bob Vander Plaats. He warmed up for the fourth GOP debate by taking California Gov. Gavin Newsom to task during an exhibition in primetime on Fox News.

“We are clicking,” DeSantis insists as he blankets Iowa. “We are doing good.” Does he enjoy the process of campaigning, though? DeSantis has heard the question before, phrased in various ways: It goes to the heart of whether he’s struggling in the polls because he’s charisma-challenged. DeSantis doesn’t object to the question. “It’s fun,” he replies with a shrug during another long day in Iowa.

[I don’t know, man. We played a couple of long clips of DeSantis on today’s Hugh Hewitt Show from the “Barn Talk” podcast in Iowa, and DeSantis was solid, professional, and engaging. But unless he pulls off a caucus GOTV miracle, it looks like none of this will matter in Iowa … and that’s really the state that plays the most into DeSantis’ organizing strength. We’ll see, but Wegmann’s use of the two-minute warning analogy seems appropriate here. — Ed]