President Obama may catch a break at the Republican National Convention this week.

The US national debt clock — positioned by Republicans for great exposure as Uncle Sam’s indebtedness clicked nearly to the $16 trillion mark — may not cooperate and reach the symbolic level by tomorrow night’s convention conclusion.

As of 11:00 last night, the US debt stood at roughly $15,990,170,000,000 — and it was adding “only” $2 billion a day, a pace that would rob Mitt Romney of one talking point.

Of course, it would likely tick over the $16 trillion mark at next week’s Democratic convention. So, stay tuned.