A longtime aide to George W. Romney issued a harshly worded critique of Mitt Romney, accusing him of shifting political positions in “erratic and startling ways” and failing to live up to the distinguished record of his father, the former governor of Michigan. Walter De Vries, who worked for the senior Mr. Romney throughout the 1960s, wrote that Mitt Romney’s bid for the White House was “a far cry from the kind of campaign and conduct, as a public servant, I saw during the seven years I worked in George Romney’s campaigns and served him as governor.” “While it seems that Mitt would say and do anything to close a deal – or an election,” he wrote, “George Romney’s strength as a politician and public officeholder was his ability and determination to develop and hold consistent policy positions over his life.”

DeVries is a political independent who voted for President Obama in 2008 and will presumably do so again in 2012, so I assume Romney partisans would simply write off this letter as an effort to support the president's reelection campaign. But that's precisely the point: DeVries, despite having a long relationship with Mitt Romney's father, not only supports Barack Obama but is dismayed by Mitt's say-anything approach to business and politics.

You can read his full letter here. It's a harsh appraisal of Mitt Romney and his biggest character flaw, but it's consistent with everything we've seen during this campaign.