We had a surplus because, first of all, Reagonomics worked. Tax cuts work. Bush 41 and BJ raised taxes to skim more cream for the government. And we had a major bubble that brought in buku revenue. The bubble is to noone's credit or fault. Meanwhile, Clinton's domestic team with Greenspan did an OK job of pushing the Keynesian economics buttons.
The bubble burst, as all bubbles do. That is to noone's credit or fault. I have the feeling the economy would have been more robust, the recession less, if those taxes had not been raised.