Jay Fitzgerald at Hub Blog already flagged this, but the most startling passage in today’s New York Times post-mortem of the Mitt Romney presidential campaign, written by Michael Luo, was this:

“Ultimately, we thought if we put everything into the crucible, people would say, ‘Wait, this guy is conservative, and he’s honest and straightforward,’ ” said Alex Gage, Mr. Romney’s director of strategy.

But Mr. Gage acknowledged that in Mr. Romney’s rush to beat back the attacks questioning his conservative credentials, he may have swung too far in the other direction, ultimately taking some of the most-pronounced stands against illegal immigration and social issues.

“Maybe we overcompensated,” Mr. Gage said.

“We”? That’s a pretty bald admission (or assertion) that the campaign determined the candidate’s personal views, rather than the other way around. Of course, since Gage was the director of strategy, he may be overstating the strategic considerations behind Romney’s move to the right. But he’s not helping his boss overcome a reputation for inauthenticity.