It would be even better if the clock hit $16 trillion when Obama gave his speech.

But, who knows, maybe it’ll be up to $17 trillion by then. From the “this is a good idea” files:

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus will introduce a “national debt clock” when he opens the GOP convention in Tampa Fla. on Monday.

The clock, which will be mounted inside the hall at the Tampa Bay Times forum will be activated at 2 p.m. EDT when the GOP meet convenes and count the growth in the nation’s debt during the convention.

And the national debt will be just shy of $16 billion as the convention gets underway. Ed Morrissey:

According to USA Debt Clock, the current level of national debt is $15.991 trillion, leaving less than $9 billion to go in three days. With that in mind, it’s possible that the debt clock will spin to $16 trillion early on Thursday.

Expect to hear that number a lot in the coming week.