"Simple Simon" wrote
The projected surplus was an optimistic Clinton fabrication
that did not take into account the recession that started
the last year Clinton was in office.

The recession did not start until Mar 2001, after Bush was inaugurated. This is
according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the official arbiter of
recessions and expansions, which is run by a Bush advisor. Although the
official recession (as defined by the "real GDP") was relatively brief,
unemployment increased and over a million jobs were lost during the "recovery."
Thus, the current growth is fueled entirely by increased productivity; those
with jobs are working harder, even though increasing numbers are unemployed.