Ex-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta had an opinion in a recent Washington Post.  As he went on about how disastrous the sequester is (while ignoring the salutary effect it’s having in reducing government spending even trivially while the apocalypse of spending cuts is not destroying our economy), he also made this remark:

…US citizens will lose trust in our system of governing….

Thus, his misunderstanding: Americans haven’t, at all, lost trust in our system of governing.  We’ve lost trust in the present government, given its blatant, years-long, and cynical deviation from our system of governing.

Oddly separately, Panetta had these remarks, too, but I’m not sure he fully understands what it is he said:

If leaders are willing to take the risks associated with leadership, it’s at least possible to avoid crisis. But if leadership is not there, then we will inevitably govern by crisis. Today, unfortunately, we are governing by crisis after crisis after crisis.

…

the world will view the United States as less able to back its word with power.

Indeed.  Yet President Barack Obama insists on leading from behind.  Or not at all.