Yes, I have read the theories about it not being real, they all stop in 1994/6... that's not when we had a surplus.
http://clinton3.nara.gov/WH/Work/102899.html
The Largest Surplus in History:
* The $123 billion surplus in 1999 is the largest dollar surplus in history, even after adjusting for inflation;
* The surplus, expected to be about 1.4% of GDP, is the largest surplus as a share of the economy since 1951;
* 1999 is the second year in a row of surplus, marking the first back-to-back surpluses since 1956-57;
* This is the first time in U.S. history that we've experienced seven years in a row of fiscal improvement.