Talk about some serious partisanship:

A free association exercise: Think of a Washington Nationals baseball cap. What's the next thing that pops into your head?

Some people think of the old Senators, whose caps inspired the new team's logo. Some think of the first-place team they now root for, or of hometown pride.

Then there are those steeped in the kind of partisan perspective that forced the french fry to decide whether it was with us or against us. They can't get past the "W," as in the president's trademark middle initial.

That can be good: "My immediate reaction was, 'W! Perfect!,' " said Dan Mintz, 57, of Bethesda. "Not only do I get to root for Washington, but I get to root for George."

Or it can be bad: "I just couldn't get myself to wear the red hat with the 'W' on it," said Jerry Stewart, 41, of Sterling, who bought a replica of the cap the Nationals wear for away games. Those hats are Democrat blue; the home caps are Republican red.

I guess it would figure that in one of the most partisan towns, there is going to be political "controversy" over a baseball team. But seriously, have we gotten so bad that anything that might even be construed as being on the other side is simply unacceptable.

This cap "ordeal" is a little bit more light-hearted though. I recall this story about Republicans in Congress that were having a hissy fit over George Soros bidding to buy the Washington Nationals.

Major League Baseball hasn't narrowed the list of the eight bidders seeking to buy the Washington Nationals and some Republicans on Capitol Hill already are hinting at revoking the league's antitrust exemption if billionaire financier George Soros , an ardent critic of President Bush and supporter of liberal causes, buys the team.

"It's not necessarily smart business sense to have anybody who is so polarizing in the political world," Rep. John E. Sweeney (R-N.Y.) said. "That goes for anybody, but especially as it relates to Major League Baseball because it's one of the few businesses that get incredibly special treatment from Congress and the federal government."

Have we gotten so partisan and so nasty that baseball is something we can't enjoy without devolving into political sniping matches?

For more commentary from Art Green, visit his blog "Conservative Eyes"