That period of exuberance followed a long stretch in the 1970s and 1980s when investors were in a slough of despond.

FORBES: Coping With a Crazy Market

As the overblown optimism wears off and the hopes of JK Rowling-like status evaporate, so the slough of despond will take a hold.

FORBES: Self-Publishing's Place On The Hype Cycle

Still, it seems unlikely that either Mr Thompson or Mr Huckabee possesses the necessary heft to pull their party out of the slough of despond.

ECONOMIST: Lexington

These include not only the perseverance that kept him tramping through the slough of despond when others might have given up, but also a nimble and well-stocked mind, an approachable manner on the stump and the big prize that eludes Mr Romney a palpable sincerity.

ECONOMIST: Lexington