2009.01.21
Democrat's day in Salem
It was a Democrat’s day in a Republican city.
At Mac & Bob’s in Salem, more than a dozen large TVs were tuned to Fox News Channel, with extra wait staff on hand in case things got busy. And as the inauguration began, fewer than 10 customers sat in the main dining room.
Hettie Barnes worked on a plate of quesadillas with two co-workers from a local insurance office.
“In Salem, there’s not going to be much celebration,” she said of a city where Sen. John McCain won all but one voting precinct in November.
The lunch hour came, couples and colleagues arrived, chatted and paid their checks. A small side room, where the TVs were off, filled up.
Exactly one table clapped and cheered. And Barnes, who wore an Obama button pinned to her vest, lingered after the ceremony ended.
“We just had a change of power,” she said. “It’s OK for us to stop, stop to take it in.”
