"From the 1970s, the vampire has achieved a cool, bad boy, exotic and sexy image", she says.

BBC: How vampires got all touchy-feely

And though they weren't admitting it openly, Republicans too are cool to the idea: they need a strong, silent bad guy to take the Fifth and thicken the plot.

CNN: Campaign Finance Hearings: Not Ready For Prime Time

Perhaps it is the old Obama cool: Don't change the strategy because of a few bad figures, keep your powder dry until next year, don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes and all that.

BBC: Obama needs to hone economic message to win in 2012

Mr. Miller says he thinks the primary cause of his hot hand turning cool was simply "bad decision-making, " and that luck played a role in his fund being ranked so highly last year.

WSJ: Hulbert on Investing: Can You Beat the Market?

Then again, there have been times, when his back was against the wall and the poll numbers were bad, when he's made a decision to turn down the volume and play like things are all cool.

NPR: Bush Defiant, But Restrained With Press