I'm with you on the retail sentiment. not that i consider myself knowledgeable about what exactly you mean (please elaborate!) but when i managed retail clients, i remember that when they were all terrified, it was a good time to buy, and when they got greedy... the other way around.
And regarding the meltdown, i totally agree. I still remember the the days that we now know were the bottom (march 9th, 09) seeing the xlf @ 6$~ and thinking to myself that even if 50% of the underlyings were to go bust, the nav should be way higher than 6$. yet, buying it only to see it going to 3$ in a matter of weeks (which was the prevalent sentiment) WAS petrifying. i try to remember those feelings today, so as not to let them cloud my judgement in the future. these days however, i'm really not sure where we stand..