Here's a staggering admission in Secretary Spellings' written testimony for today's student loan hearing:

"...federal student aid is crying out for reform.  The system is redundant, it's Byzantine, and it has failed to keep up with dramatic changes in higher education.  In many ways, it's also a prime target for those looking to game the sytem." 

These problems aren't new.  The Bush administration had a Republican Congress for six years and enough public support to get reelected in 2004.  Administration officials could have tackled these problems head on, but they didn't.  Until someone got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Administration officials' lack of attention to student aid is emblematic of their unwillingness to confront campaign contributors (lenders), their  "see no evil" approach to businesses that profit from government contracts, and their disdain for doing the job they were elected to do -- governing.

UPDATE: Eduwonk, blogging late last night, was all over Spellings' "awkward defense" of the administration's actions over the past six years.