Less than two months after a national survey of venture capitalists found a bullish outlook amid gathering economic turmoil, a new survey of Silicon Valley VCs released Tuesday has found their “confidence” plummeting sharply to a four-year low.

[From San Jose Mercury News - VCs suddenly worried about valley's economic health]

I don’t know why anyone would look at venture capitalists and expect them to be leading indicators for a downturn. My surprise here is only eclipsed by a similar sense of disbelief about the notion that a survey of venture capitalists will reflect what they actually believe. This isn’t to suggest that VCs are dishonest, not at all but rather the fact that VC investors typically have a more optimistic view of the future than the broader population.