Maggie, as I tweeted, it truly is a dramatic moment for him when he actually reads from notes. Many a former Santorum staffer was amazed to see that happen tonight.

As to how this Santorum surge happened — he who literally had to raise his hand at an early debate — I closed my pre-caucus syndicated column with:

We are not the ones we have been waiting for. Nor is Rick Santorum. Which is precisely why he wakes up every day and works, and why many Iowa voters see in him something of what they’d like to see (again) in Washington.

See if you agree with any of this tonight.