Government Books and Cooking Thereof

I read in the WSJ this morning that in fact the federal government under Clinton in the years 1998,1999,2000, and 2001 ran up a "surplus" of $558.5 billion which one would assume resulted in a reduction of the national debt by that amount. In fact, the national debt rose by $1.312 TRILLION in that period. This, according to the article, was the result of creative bookkeeping which produced the "surplus". Maybe Bush could make the current deficit disappear like Johnson did in 1968. He was criticized for budget deficits and simply moved the Social Security trust funds which were in surplus to the on-budget category. Presto! No more deficit. Better yet, he should maybe get control of his Republican legislators who are worse spenders than the dems ever were.