In the South Side of Chicago, Clemon Clay, the owner of Gordy's Barbers, proclaimed, "we're what you might call an opinion-based barbershop. Equal parts politics and haircutting."

The London Times of London reports that, "with it's chess set, slot machine, gobstopper dispenser and constant banter, Gordy's is the gathering place in the rundown, mainly black district. The chief topic of conversation is President Barack Obama, who started his political career as a community organizer in the areas and who's wife, Michelle, grew up nearby."

Over the past year, Clay nick-named Cee Cee, has observed his clientele go from exuberant enthusiasm to downcast disillusionment. Republicans, scenting Democratic dismay after their astonishing victory in the leftist confines of Massachusetts, are selling their sights on Obama's former senate seat.

Cee Cee weilding his barber's razor on a heavily-built butcher wearing a diamond earing, said, "our customers talk politics all the time because they're frightened of losing their homes and jobs. I think Obama makes promises like all the other presidents but don't really follow through. Maybe he has good intentions but he's in the pigsty realm of Washington so his boots have got a little muddy."

According to the Times, "his colleague Sam is less understanding. 'I don't think he's done nothing, the situation's got worse and worse for me,' he complained. 'His slogan was change but now he's saying change is not just up to me. Well, that wasn't what he said in the elections."

Illinois has been struck hard by the economic crisis, with unemployment standing at 10.8 percent. Gordy's, which has been operating for more that a half century, is the only shop remaining on the street, aside from a liquor store. The street is haunted by boarded-up windows that are plastered with posters declaring bankruptcy, mortgage foreclosure, or auction.

To read the entire article from the London Times, link here:

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