On caucus eve, writing on the wall

DES MOINES – The handmade posters all over a drab Hillary Clinton field office said more than the candidate did herself when she stopped in today with daughter Chelsea to thank staff and volunteers for all their hard work.

One was titled “Components of Persuasion,” and offered some basic advice for canvassers who are knocking on thousands upon thousands of doors this week:

* Listen and be polite

* Find similarities and common ground

* Explain your support for Hillary!

* If they are disinterested, move on. There are plenty of other people to chat with.

Scattered around the room were signs bearing the names of ice cream flavors – chocolate, vanilla, cookie dough and mint chocolate chip. They were left over from a training for precinct captains: each flavor represented a candidate, and the captains were asked to move to the corner of the room for their favorite flavor so as to be properly counted.

Forty percent of Clinton’s precinct captains – organizational leaders at the caucus – have never caucused before or haven’t caucused in years, so many of them will need to dry run.

Sources tell us mint chocolate chip was the victor.

Also indicative of life on a presidential campaign was the “Wish List.” It included “healthy snacks, fruits and veggies,” paper shredder, “cowbell (urgent)”, which had been crossed off, and “wooden stakes!!”