Despite the rhetoric-laden bickering between Republicans and Democrats over how to pay for an extension of low-interest rates on government-backed student loans, it’s been clear for months that a deal would be reached. Neither the GOP nor the White House wanted to be blamed for spiking debt payments just before a national election, and Mitt Romney has been on record since late April as supporting an extension. With a July 1 deadline looming, it is safe to say that absolutely no one is surprised that Senate leaders are announcing that a deal is in hand.