Further, the conditions where there was a surplus under Clinton were three-fold:
(1) Decreased government spending, due to welfare reform and lower defense budgets following the end of the cold war.
(2) An increase in taxes (top tax bracket rose from 28% under Reagan to 32% on GHWB to 39% under Clinton).
(3) Economic boom due to computer and internet based productivity gains.
Given that the surplus was small and short-lived (it didn't survive an economic downturn or return with a good economy, but lowered taxes under GWB), it would likely not have occurred without all three components.
Now, Lysistrata, if your main concern is the federal debt, how serious are you on actually addressing it?
Part 1: You really like decreased government spending, except when you don't. You want more military spending, more spending on veterans, construction of a wall. We'll put you down as not serious about actually decreasing government spending considering you don't want actual across-the-board cuts and favor greater benefits for at least one group of citizens (not that there is anything wrong with caring about veterans).
Part 2: You really want decreased taxation. We'll come back to that.
Part 3: Well, you don't get control over the boom and bust cycle, so it may be that even with whatever optimal arrangement of tax & spending policy you choose still might not result in surpluses.
Lets return to point 2: the level of taxation. I assume you are someone who believes in the Laffer Curve analysis:
1. If the government taxes at 0%, the government collects no money.
2. If the government taxes at 100%, there is no (reported) economic activity, and the government collects no money.
3. Therefore, there is some tax rate that generates the most government revenue, which then can be used to diminish the debt.
Your questions then are:
What is that optimal tax rate? (Remember, you have to collect money to pay down the debt, you said it was important)
How confident are you in this number?
If you knew the number accurately, and it was higher than current effective tax rates, would you support raising taxes to that value?
We'll then know if you are serious on part (2) of diminishing the federal debt, because you better be, given that you are not actually serious about part (1) with that excess defense and related spending you've advocated for.