One day last week, for example, Tiko Campbell was in for his usual at Mac's when politics literally walked up to him as he was sitting in the barber's chair. It came in the form of Madeline Beitz, 17, who was out in the neighborhood with her mother and looking to register voters for Barack Obama.

These days, primary politics and especially talk of Obama's candidacy are frequent guests at Mac's. Opinions are often sharp, political theories abound, and the place in general sides with Obama. Presiding over all this is the affable McClean, with his trademark black bow tie, black barber's smock, shiny black shoes, and penchant for escorting customers to their cars.

In two recent visits, clients at Mac's predicted more bombshells from the Hillary Clinton camp and fretted over the controversy centered on Obama's pastor in Chicago, even before the candidate took on the issue this week here in Philadelphia. They worried openly about Obama's chances and some even forecast a victory - for John McCain.

The Rev. G. Daniel Jones, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, came in one day to get himself in shape for a men's club banquet. Mayor Nutter was going to be the guest speaker at his church, and everyone who knows politics knows that Nutter is solidly behind Clinton.

That worried the reverend, an Obama supporter. When you have the Democratic political establishment behind Clinton, in the form of Nutter and Gov. Rendell, the odds are long. Jones, natty in a gray pinstripe suit, made it clear he doesn't hold the political alliance against Nutter, noting that he has plenty of company among Democrats.

"I see the urban centers - Erie, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chester - going for Obama," Jones predicted with confidence.

As to the rest of the state, however, things are bleak.

Or, as the reverend put it, "We are challenged."

The Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, to which he belongs, endorsed Obama last week. But another group of black clergy, The Philadelphia Council of Clergy, is behind Clinton. Such is politics.

At one point, talk turned to Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who has been the focus of news - and criticism - because of his views. Kristopher Robinson, 17, a student at the Haverford School, was in the chair when veteran barber Cecilia Fitzgerald weighed in on the Wright matter.

"It's so unfair what they are doing to Obama, pulling him apart," said Fitzgerald, 51.

If there was good news here it came from Robinson, who confirmed many polls on the electorate by announcing that the presidential campaign was "a big deal" among people his age.

It was Thomas Hughes, vice president of a medical company in Blue Bell, who offered the troubling McCain scenario to all the Obama supporters. His theory is all about power, who has it, and who isn't going to get it.

"John McCain is gonna be the next president," declared Hughes, 51. "Obama is talking about change. That ain't gonna happen against the power structure. It already has been predetermined.

"McCain is part of the old power structure," Hughes continued. "Hillary is part of the old power structure. But Hillary is too polarizing for the Republicans."

"I hope you're wrong," said Bryant Spry, 46, an engineer, who was sitting next to Hughes.

Spry, a recent arrival from Illinois, said he knew Obama a little. "He's a real good guy. He's always in touch with the community."

And then talk turned to fear - fear that the negative politics deployed against Obama might turn some black voters away from Clinton, if she were the nominee. And if blacks don't turn out, the thinking went, then you end with the Hughes scenario and McCain as the winner.

As if to feed on the fear, three of the seven clients in the shop said they might not vote for Clinton if Obama did not prevail and she got the nomination.

It was at that point that the campaign literally entered McClean's.

"We're here to register Obama supporters," announced Alex Beitz, 47, as her daughter looked on. Campbell raised his hand from beneath the black barber cape, scattering tufts of black hair to the floor.

"I want to register," he said.

He had moved from Maryland recently, he said, and he needed to sign up. He was a willing voter, and a bit of an optimist.

Campbell, who is 60, thought the country was ready for Obama.

"I think there is a great chance that Obama will be on the Democratic ticket," he said. "One way or another."