An apology

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the American taxpayer. I was invited to D.C. by a federal agency, costs covered, but had to make my own accomodation arrangements. With only a few days notice I had to find a hotel room in D.C., and the only ones that were available cost $300/night, a ripoff for anything but some of the nicer suites in Vegas (although personal experience indicates that the Swissotel chain is almost worth that, too). I really tried to find something more reasonable, call and Web-searched many different places, but it was a wasteland as far as cheap rates go. So, sorry about that, I'll try to get you a better deal if the opportunity comes up again.

The bed was pretty comfortable, though, if that helps.