And beyond the performance of specific stocks, a solid recovery in the housing market should lead to policymakers, starting with Bernanke, breathing a sigh of relief.

FORBES: Housing Comeback Materializing As Lennar's Profit Surges Fourfold

The 1982 recovery took the economy's usual 6 months to reach the prerecession peaks of performance.

CNN: Christensen: We are living the capitalist's dilemma

While lower gas prices and the recovery of the auto sector (as supply chain disruptions eased in Japan) boosted economic performance in the third quarter, Hatzius believes the U.S. economy will continue to muddle through until the private sector feels comfortable enough that it has fixed its balance sheet to begin spending.

FORBES: Goldman's Hatzius: U.S. To Avoid Recession As Bernanke Unveils QE3, Europe Doomed

But even those who know recovery will be slow and painful are perturbed by the persistence of one particular symptom: poor export performance.

ECONOMIST: Asian exports

If RG3 does not fully heal from the injuries sustained in the 2012 playoffs against Seattle, and if a less-than-full recovery negatively impacts his long-term ability to lead his team to the same levels of performance that were experienced in 2012, then Washington fans will be paying more money for a devalued product.

FORBES: Washington Redskins Fans, Thank RG3 For Your Higher Ticket Prices in 2013

We need to pass laws that enhance the recovery, enhance job creation, enhance middle-class security, and position this country for the kind of economic performance in the 21st century that the United States enjoyed in the 20th.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

It was performed in Sarajevo under siege in the 1990s, in South Africa it was seen as a critique of apartheid and in the wake of Hurricane Katrina a performance in New Orleans was seen as an emblem of the city's wait for recovery.

BBC: Why are we still waiting for Godot?