Watergate Hotel on Auction Block

The global recession is even taking its toll on infamous U.S. landmarks. The Watergate Hotel is near the end of a foreclosure proceeding and is set to be auctioned off in Washington, DC on Tuesday. The current owner of the property, Monument Realty, is still trying to negotiate new terms with the lender, but it doesn't appear likely that a deal will get done.

It was only last year that the true identity of Deep Throat was revealed, bringing some level of final closure to the saga of political intrigue and scandal that brought down the Nixon administration and further divided a nation. The Watergate scandal was the culmination of years of mounting suspicion about corruption at the highest levels of government. The Watergate scandal captured the public's imagination and confirmed that politicians in the United States are generally not trustworthy.

The current two-party system in the United States rewards politicians who choose to make careers out of campaigning for re-election. As a result, elected officials are paid large sums of money and given lavish perks to ensure that the interests of special groups and companies are protected through legislative action and inaction, depending on the situation.