All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

Since 1989, the National Debt Clock has been a fixture in Manhattan's Times Square. After you've dropped a cool $200 on a Broadway Show, a glimpse of its ominous ticker might deter you from that $20 nightcap.

And now, that clock has run out of numbers. Our national debt, now at $10.2, is one digit larger than the spots available on the sign.

When real estate mogul Seymour Durst created the clock back in 1989, the debt was at $2.7 trillion. Since 2003, it has grown by half a trillion each year, and the bailout Congress just signed will likely kick that number up even higher by the end of 2008.

But rather than retiring the debt sign, the Dursts will redesign it to include enough spaces for a quadrillion.

Expanding the credit line when money is tight - isn't that how we got into this mess in the first place? The debt clock literally is a sign of the times.

A signature lyric from the one-hit-wonder Five Man Electrical Band really sums up much of the view from the floor of the Pepsi Center: "signs, signs, everywhere there's signs."

And in last night's live Convention Cast, the plentiful signage became a bit of a hot topic. For example:

(CBS)

CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts: One thing I want to show you, there are no, or very few, spontaneous moments at these conventions. All the signs they put up, volunteers go around at different points and hand them out. For instance, when Biden came out, volunteers ran around and they handed out these signs … and when Obama came out and joined Biden on stage made his surprise appearance, they handed out there, "Obama – For The Change We Need."

Katie Couric: You should save some of those, Byron! They'll be collector's items.

Pitts: Now is that stealing?

Couric: No, no, no, they're on the floor! I think they're everybody's.

And…

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Hi, everyone! Is it Friday already?

I hope to post more in a few days about my first week on the job. (Did you hear I started a new job this week? Actually, it’s about 20 jobs. I feel like that guy who used to spin plates on The Ed Sullivan Show …am I dating myself, or what?)

The other day I finally got a chance to start looking at suggestions for my sign off.

I think we can all agree: coming up with a good one is harder than it looks. (Not unlike plate spinning, actually).

There are a few consistent themes. A lot of people liked what I said the first night. (“I’m Katie Couric. Thank you so much for watching. And I hope to see you tomorrow night.”) Some viewers think I should just say “Peace.” A few suggestions gave me the distinct impression that some people just have too much time on their hands. (“Remember to KNOW news is GOOD news!”)

A friend from NBC suggested:

“Everybody have fun tonight. Everybody wang chung tonight.”

I thought about “Peace out, homies,” but I think that’s too urban.

And then we got this email from Bob Barker:

"Remember to help the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered. Good night everybody.

But my favorite so far? “Keep it real.”

Anyway, here are a few from the top of the pile. Enjoy. Follow "Read More" to see the rest. And keep ‘em coming!

Good night and here’s to a better tomorrow.

Good night, America. I'll be here for tomorrow's news; hope you'll be here, too.

Until next time, I'm Katie Couric, keeping an eye on news that matters to you.

What a wonderful world this be. For the CBS Evening News, I'm Katie Couric.

All [they] are saying is give peace a chance. For the CBS Evening News, I'm Katie Couric.

That's all, folks! For the CBS Evening News, I'm Katie Couric.

Now you're in synch with the news of the world. I'm Katie Couric. Goodnight.

We have got our eye on the world, thanks for having your eye on us. This is Katie Couric and the CBS News team saying goodnight and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow night!

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