DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – So far, the press has spent hours watching aides tweak the podium and pace the press area, here in the ballroom at the Hotel Ft. Des Moines.

The ballroom is SMALL and will pack fast once supporters filter in — one assumes the temperature will rise from chilly comfortable to summer in Iowa. Areas outside the room have been set up for folks to mix and mingle — which we're told by aides they're doing.

Red, white and blue lights sit behind the curtains to give the old-fashioned space a patriotic glow. When Hillary Clinton emerges to speak to the crowd later this evening, she will do so in front of a large "Ready for Change, Ready to Lead Banner." There is a long tiered platform behind her posing the possibility that supporters and family members will stand behind her.

Reporters, producers and photographers are crammed on the riser trying to make nice — although there's already been a food spill and a hot light clipped a journalist as it tipped over. One imagines comraderie will fade when the candidate takes the stage and the whole press corps surges forward to get the shot.