Wall street journal reports that this crisis was the predicted result of politically correct lending policies commanded by the Clinton administration, continued and worsened by the Bush administration.
Carpe Diem reports that this crisis was predicted when these policies were introduced by the Clinton Administration. In 1999, the NY Times observed:
Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980s
Which is, of course, what happened.