A surplus means almost nothing when you've built a gaping structural deficit into the budget with tax cuts and middle-class welfare, as Howard did. Add to that Howard's neglect of higher education and infrastructure, plus a GFC and you soon realise whoever got in after him would inevitably have to contend with budget deficits.
The main thing Rudd (and to some extent Gillard) got wrong was not having the guts to reform the broken tax system to try to claw back some of the lost revenue. Thankfully it looks like Labor have now developed the required guts.
