Once again, you're relying on the media for your information. I have news for you: THERE WAS NO SURPLUS UNDER CLINTON.
Not that this is really news, because you knew it anyway, but you really like to throw distortions out there if you believe it'll work in favor of your chosen candidate.
When Clinton left office, the best that could be said at the time is that he 'balanced the BUDGET.' He did NOT pay down the national debt, let alone create a 'surplus' of any kind, and the only way he was able to balance the budget was by BORROWING from social security - which is also partly why social security is in such a dire state right now.
Fiscal
Year Year Ending National Debt Deficit
FY1993 09/30/1993 $4.411488 trillion
FY1994 09/30/1994 $4.692749 trillion $281.26 billion
FY1995 09/29/1995 $4.973982 trillion $281.23 billion
FY1996 09/30/1996 $5.224810 trillion $250.83 billion
FY1997 09/30/1997 $5.413146 trillion $188.34 billion
FY1998 09/30/1998 $5.526193 trillion $113.05 billion
FY1999 09/30/1999 $5.656270 trillion $130.08 billion
FY2000 09/29/2000 $5.674178 trillion $17.91 billion
FY2001 09/28/2001 $5.807463 trillion $133.29 billion
When Bush took over, the national DEFICIT was 17.91 billion, but the national DEBT has CLIMBED by 1.2 TRILLION.
If you don't understand the difference between the national DEBT and the national DEFICIT, you shouldn't be commenting on this topic. However, if you did understand the difference, then you wouldn't be sitting here and attributing actions to Clinton which NEVER HAPPENED.
Either way, you're uninformed and uneducated on this topic.
If you would like some education on this topic AND you're able to break free from partisan politics long enough to do some research, I invite you to check out the following link:
http://www.letxa.com/articles/16
If that's not good enough and you simply refuse to believe what I'm saying, you can also take a look at the US Treasury's website for hard data (
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np). Careful, though, because it will contradict the non-sense you've been fed up to this point, and which you have chosen to believe ahead of actually, you know, looking it up for yourself...