And down the stretch they come, Teddy and George, neck and neck ...

Call us naive -- gullible, even -- but we thought Monday was going to be the night.

After 523 consecutive losses, the stars seemed to align for Teddy Roosevelt to win his first Presidents Race at Nationals Park.

It was the final homestand of the season, and the Nats were on the brink of clinching their first-ever NL East title. Teddy had just received endorsements from both John McCain and Barack Obama. Few are more connected within the Beltway insider circles than McCain, so this pregame Tweet from the Arizona senator only increased our suspicions:

Word on the street is tonight could be #Teddy's big night #LetTeddyWin @nationals

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) October 1, 2012

Teddy pumped iron with John Cena and received a pep talk from McCain himself before the game.

Then he burst out of the gate in the middle of the fourth inning, and a magical buzz overtook Nationals Park. This had to be it ... Right? ... Right?

-- Whitney Holtzman / MLB.com