As of this morning, December 23, 2011, the national debt of the United States was $15,131,341,579,914.48 or $15.13 trillion.
From the Sedan Graphic, a democrat newspaper, February 24, 1886:
"The Coffeyville Journal makes the startling statement that the National debt has been reduced to $1,800,000. If that is the total of Uncle Sam's uneasiness, we will draw him a check for that amount and let him pay it off, and thus stop all of the quacking of our Republican exchanges, the Journal (Sedan) included, are making about the debt increasing."
As of this morning, the national debt of the United States is 15.4 trillion.