Think about this. What ABC's report means is that Americans are less confident in their government than they were even in the waning days of (wait for it!) the Jimmy Carter presidency . . . or the much-maligned George W. Bush's.
Obviously, President Obama brought with him to The White House an outsized conviction in his own persuasive abilities and the efficacy of government. But as Americans have been given a crash course on the meaning of hope-and-change, Big Government Style, they are reaching the sensible conclusion that perhaps it makes sense for government to do less, because what it does (for the most part, with obvious exceptions like the military) is done rather poorly.