Washington is getting excited these days about two heroes, but they’re not named Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. They’re Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman.

For those of you who don’t follow baseball (and that’s your loss), Strasburg is the brilliant young pitcher for the Washington Nationals, and Zimmerman is the star third baseman. As of this writing, they’ve help propel the Nats into first place in the National League East. Only Ron Paul winning the Republican nomination could have been a more surprising development.

Nothing can define a region more clearly — or create a sense of unity more effectively — than a successful sports team. Think of New England’s Red Sox Nation or Green Bay’s Packer Backers or the nut-balls who drive their RVs across the Southeast on fall Saturdays following the University of Alabama football team. (It’s possible to be buried in an officially licensed Crimson Tide coffin.) The Nats have not quite reached that level of fanaticism, but this city sure could use a strong infusion of community pride and spirit.