(From your own link)...so let's take a look at the controlling congressional parties during those years:
Reagan +9.3%, Democrat House, Republican Senate followed by Democrat Senate
George H. W. Bush +13.0%, Democrat for both
Clinton -0.07%, Democrat House followed by Republican House, Democrat Senate followed by Republican Senate
Clinton -9.0%, Republican for both
George H. Bush +7.1%, Republican House, Split Senate followed by Republican Senate
George H. Bush +20.7%, Republican House followed by Democrat House, Republican Senate followed by Democrat Senate
If you fail to discern the underlying pattern there, then you are not paying attention. Presidents get far too much credit and blame for the debt load of the country; it is Congress that writes the laws - the President signs or vetoes them. So when Joe Randomcitizen or some Talking Head tries to give credit to Clinton (or too much blame to Republicans) for a particular debt load without recognizing Congress's far-greater contribution, that too is misleading. Possibly known as lying? You be the judge.
(Side note on Clinton: he presided during one of the biggest economic booms in our history. As one presidential candidate recently put it: "when you're dealt four aces, it's easy to win the hand.")
The logical counterargument is that the buck stops with the president. Ultimately he decides whether to sign whatever congress puts on his desk. And arguably there are times where a president signs something that does not match 100% with his fiscal (or other) ideology. That's called compromise, and I think that our current congressional gridlock (Cf. funding the nation for months at a time rather than a full year) is due to the virtue of compromise being retrospectively mis-cast into a vice. Our congresspeople have no choice but to dig in their ideological heels or risk being outcast by their peers, Talking Heads, and even their opponents for not strictly following their chosen party doctrine.
Interesting that the captcha for this entry is 'revival'. That is truly what this country needs.