[DuncanWaring]

Americans ... were relieved that they were ... through modest surpluses were making some progress in paying down the national debt.

Not true.

The National Debt has not decreased year-to-year since 1957.

On June 30, 1957 the debt was about $2 billion less than it was on June 30, 1956.

Here is the historical record.

There were a couple of years in the late 1990s when the debt "only" went up $20 billion or so, but it's been up continuously every single year since 1957.

[Tolik]

See my post #4. I think Hanson tried, but was not strong enough to stress the point that he is talking about political perceptions and not the economic realities.

There were a couple of years in the late 1990s when the debt "only" went up $20 billion

True. But in the public eye it was as good as balanced budget, especially comparing to what we have now.