Balanced Budget and Budget Surplus

Unlike the Reagan and Bush administrations when it comes to government spending I am fairly conservative. The equation is simple: government spending cannot exceed government revenue. Why is that so hard to implement? Perhaps it is because I live in the very red state of Texas, but I think President Clinton does not get enough credit for his administration's balanced budgets, which lead to budget surpluses at the end of his term in office.

Currently we're digging ourselves out of the great recession, which makes balancing the budget tricky, but I hope Obama is a two term President and I also hope he'll pass off a budget surpluses (like Clinton) to his successor...