As readers of this blog know, I’m a huge Washington Nationals fan – even though I didn’t get the winning bid to own the team. What non-Washingtonians may not be too familiar with is the great Nationals tradition of the Presidents Race.

In the middle of the fourth inning of every home game, the four presidents featured on Mount Rushmore — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt – race around the stadium. They’re puppets – huge puppets.

Alas, Teddy Roosevelt – one of my favorite presidents (I get that from John McCain, I guess) – never wins.

So unfair.

A grassroots movement has sprung up, with thousands of fans chanting “Let Teddy Win!” I’m with them. I say to the Powers That Be: Even out the playing field! Give Teddy a chance! Don’t rig the race – just be fair.

If you’re a Teddy Roosevelt supporter, I encourage you to check out this great new blog I discovered: http://blog.letteddywin.com/ . You can follow all the latest Presidents Race (and Nationals) news and even show your support for Teddy. And hopefully I’ll see you at the new ballpark.

Let’s go ‘Nats1 Let’s go Teddy!

Earlier this week I wrote about the greening of the hotel industry, based on a Washington Post article on the makeover of The Bethesda Doubletree, the hotel owned by my company, Thayer Lodging Group.

That blog post earned a nice mention by Anne Schroeder of the Politico, who writes their Shenanigans column. Here’s what Anne wrote yesterday:

Fred Malek Blogs?

The man who has done everything under the sun in Washington — though possibly best known for his philanthropy, his leading role in returning baseball to D.C. and his advising top Republican officials and presidents — has gotten all Gen X-y on us, admitting Al Gore got to his staunch Republicanism.

And his views on air, too.

“Did Al Gore get to me? Sure — it proves even Democrats can get it right sometimes; and in my view, Mr. Gore earned his Nobel for drawing attention not only to global warming but to the environment overall,” Fred Malek writes about his new goal of hopefully becoming the leader of going green within the hotel industry.

“Ever get sleepy in the afternoons? Wonder why? Maybe it’s more than the big lunch. Maybe it has something to do with the air you breathe. We are convinced that we can differentiate our product and improve preference for our hotels through these measures. Green means more than improving the environment — it can also create more green on the bottom line,” he writes.

Agrees a D.C insider: “Fresh air is something this town sorely needs.”

It was a gracious and fun item in Anne’s column. But more important than my blogging, I hope it sparks greater discussion about how going green can help consumers and businesses alike.