Just got off the phone with Eight Forty-Eight’s Richard Steele live at the Hyde Park Hair Salon in Chicago’s Hyde Park. The salon is the home of Barack Obama’s barber, Zariff, and an election night gathering of some 120 people. As we spoke, the mostly African American crowd could be heard singing the national anthem and cheering at the top of their lungs. The salon is a gathering place for people of all stripes. They come for cuts and for conversation - about sports, politics, women and the like. Obama’s been a regular for years and Richard says Zariff told him he’s personally had his bags packed for 18 months just in case he gets the call to cut Obama’s hair in the White House. Here’s an excerpt of their conversation, recorded moments ago: barber