Slow mo stock market crash?

Somehow there seems to be no middle ground in looking at the equity markets in the U.S. today. On the one hand, it is possible that the market is oversold and that the relative value to other capital market opportunities is heavily tilted towards a significant market rally. On the other hand, having only two hands, the thought lingers and just won't go away that we could be in a slow motion stock market crash, comparable to the U.S. dollar's collapse of 40% since 2001. Is it possible that through fits and starts, ups and downs, that by the end of 2009 we could look back and realize that the market took two years to accomplish what it did in one week in October 1987.