People knew Jon Huntsman’s presidential dreams were just that when they read his tweet last summer: “To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.” The former Utah governor sealed his fate a few weeks later by speaking in Chinese during a presidential debate.

It is unclear what possessed Mr Huntsman to believe Republicans were looking for someone with qualifications. That is surely why his fellow Mormon Mitt Romney, who spent his missionary years in France, has refrained from slipping into French. It would be like playing Edith Piaf at a Nascar rally.

This year is certainly bad. But US politics has always been tough going for anyone perceived as being too intellectual (those who slip through, such as Barack Obama, are daily reminded of their vulnerability).