Sorry, but paying off interest is not paying of the debt [at least the principal] especially when the overall debt including interest continued and still continues to rise. That just means we could not pay the entire amount of interest that year. Your credit card company does not see it that way either. Geeze Visa, I had a $25 surplus this month so I used it to toward my balance of $3000. Never mind the interest on that alone is probably $45 a month if you're lucky. Only in the Beltway does paying part of the interest on the debt while the overall debt continues to rise mean "paying down the debt". Just like reductions in spending increases means "draconian budget cuts" when it is a Liberal pork project.

Don't get me wrong, Bush II has missed a golden opportunity to use the Republican Congress to reduce spending regardless of the remifications of 9/11. I am very disappointed in him for that.

>Because the interest exceeds the surplus? And no one is applying the surpluses against the debt? This isn't rocket science here, Mark.
>
>>Absolutely not. The deficit refers to each annual budget. The debt is the accumulation of the budget deficits/surpluses. Again, no one has yet to explain how we could have these surpluses and yet have the federal debt increase every year even under the Clintons.
>>
>>>Mark,
>>>
>>>Are you confusing "deficits" with "debt" here?
>>>
>>>http://www.kowaldesign.com/budget/
>>>
>>>>How can you say there were actual surpluses when the Federal deficit increased EVERY DAMN YEAR under Clinton????