Of course it fell. Forgot about the Bush tax cuts too? Wiki has the 559 billion single year figure. With surpluses rapidly rising it was just too ripe a plum for the Republicans to avoid plucking for their campaign contributors (power and campaign contributions both corrupt). I don't remember the exact total surplus or the time period other than it was huge compared to the federal budget which has been 2-3 trillion for quite some time. Even you will admit to a number over 3 trillion. That's over 3 times as high as Obama's one time stimulous intended to prevent an economic disaster that would have made the Republican's fiscally irresponsibility disaster look minor. I think the program was seriously flawed in hindsight as was TARP as is typical whenever things are done in a panic. More sticks for loans/bail outs next time and more forethought on infrastructure projects with an emphasis on speed as well as long term use. In the long run however just doing something may have been the mental tonic needed to stop the panic.

Regards,
Mark