~>  DD> Who was the last president actually to apply budgetary
~>  DD> surplus to paying down the deficit/debt? See above.
 
~> I find it interesting that many people claim that Clinton ran
~> a budget surplus (maybe even plural) during his tenure.  I've
~> read that the national debt *increased* in every single year of
~> his administration, which suggests that any surplus was an
~> accounting fiction.  Congresscrooks - abetted by the administration
~> in power - spend a LOT of money that isn't included in the budget
~> or deficit calculations.

Gross Federal Debt at the End of the Fiscal Year:

1990 3,206,290
1991 3,598,178
1992 4,001,787
1993 4,351,044
1994 4,643,307
1995 4,920,586
1996 5,181,465
1997 5,369,206
1998 5,478,189
1999 5,605,523
2000 5,628,700
2001 5,769,881
2002 6,198,401
2003 6,760,014
2004 7,354,657
2005 7,905,300
2006 8,451,350
2007 8,950,744
2008 9,986,082

It is also interesting that DD puts all credit and blame for the budget on
presidents, as if congress has no say on spending or taxing.
 
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5a