As much as he waffles on some issues, when it comes to his preferred sports teams, President Obama tends to be pretty stern. Where Major League Baseball is concerned, Obama, a longtime Chicagoan, has almost never veered away from his beloved White Sox, even when having to greet other squads that win the World Series.

But Obama is as diligent a poll-reader as any modern president, and given recent trends, he might be changing his position on baseball. In an interview yesterday with KSNV, an NBC affiliate in Las Vegas, Obama was quizzed about the Nationals, who at the All-Star break possess the best record in the National League.

KSNV reporter Jim Snyder started talking baseball near the end of the interview, mentioning his own loyalty to the Chicago Cubs. And though Obama was unsympathetic as ever toward the North Side squad, rejecting Snyder’s offering of a decades-old Cubs pennant, the president did have kind words for someone else in the National League.

“We were talking about one of the biggest stars right now in Washington, is Bryce Harper, who comes out of Nevada, and I know folks are really proud of him,” Obama said in the KSNV segment.

Apparently, Harper’s heralded big-league debut isn’t just worthy of the All-Star Game, in which the 19-year-old rookie will participate tonight, it’s been enough to soften Obama’s White Sox-loving heart.

“And it’s my second favorite team now, after the Chicago White Sox,” Obama said, much like plenty of other folks who move to D.C. from other MLB cities and can’t be budged to cut their hometown ties. (Go Yankees.)

Of course, this could all be savvy campaigning. Nevada is poised to be one of the most heavily contested states in this year’s presidential election, and Obama will be looking to hold on to its six electoral votes.