Former U.S. Sen. Jim Talent led a trio of Missouri Republicans today who discounted last week's sweeping primary victory by Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum and instead lauded GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney as the corporate "turn-around expert'' that the nation needs to transform the country.

Romney, said Talent, "is going to be in the state and campaigning vigorously'' in hopes of doing well in next month's Republican caucuses, which begin March 17. The caucus system will award most of the state's 52 GOP presidential delegates.

Romney (left) didn't campaign before last week's presidential primary, Talent said, because it didn't count. As a result, the former senator asserted, the election turned into "an exhibition game where only one team was on the field."

And that "game" was a rout. Santorum (pictured here in St. Charles on primary night) carried every county. That victory came after an earlier visit to the area, making Santorum the only GOP presidential hopeful to make a public visit to the state before the primary.

Now, Talent and his cohorts -- state Auditor Tom Schweich and U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield -- say they are trying to correct the portrait painted by Santorum, asserting that he has been drawing an inaccurate picture of his past, particularly on fiscal issues.

All three were careful not to knock Santorum's record on social issues.

Long said he was "perplexed'' by Santorum's support among fellow conservatives. The congressman asserted that Santorum inaccurately "sees himself as the second coming of Jim DeMint," referring to the influential conservative U.S. senator from South Carolina.

Assertions in Advance of Lincoln Days

The timing of the trio's conference call comes just days before hundreds of Republicans around the state converge on Kansas City for this year's statewide Lincoln Days, Missouri's annual Republican event.

Presidential politics will likely heighten the atmosphere at the gathering, a point cited by Long, as he indirectly confirmed that Santorum had rank-and-file support in the state.  At Lincoln Days, said Long, he will be interested in what Santorum backers "are seeing that I'm not."

Unlike previous years, no presidential hopefuls are on tap to address the Lincoln Days crowd. Instead, two popular GOP governors have been lined up: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is headlining the Friday night dinner, while Virgina Gov. Bob McDonnell is the main speaker at the Saturday night banquet.

McDonnell recently endorsed Romney. (Jindal had backed Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has dropped out.)

Talent portrayed Romney as a similar tight-fisted governor during his tenure as the chief executive in Massachusetts.

But Santorum, he asserted, had been part of the big-spending "liberal wing'' during his tenure as a U.S. senator from Pennysylvania. Among other things, Talent -- who served with Santorum -- said that the latter had voted for massive spending programs while also opposing curbs to union rights.

"He voted against right-to-work laws,'' Talent said, touching on a popular topic among rural Missouri Republicans. Talent added that the conservative Cato Institute had concluded that Santorum "never met an earmark he didn't like."

When asked, Talent acknowledged that he had voted for some of the same federal spending programs -- notably the Medicare prescription drug program -- as Santorum. But overall, Talent contended that his own fiscal record was more conservative than Santorum's.

But the record that counts, Talent continued, was Romney's. Throughout his public and private career, Talent said, Romney had displayed his "passion for taking troubled organizations and turning them around."

Praise Romney As 'turn-around Expert'

Talent singled out Romney's record as the head of the 2002 Olympics in Utah and as governor of Massachusetts. As governor, said Talent, Romeny was successful by slashing budgets and programs, "not raising taxes."

Schweich echoed that theme. "You need a corporate turn-around expert to organize this country, reduce the debt and get us back on track," Schweich said.

He also asserted Santorum would be weaker since he lost his Senate seat in 2006, now held by Democrat Bob Casey Jr.  Added Schweich: "If he can't win his own Senate race, how can he win the presidency?"

Schweich also contended that Santorum was too closely tied to Washington lobbying firms and think tanks.

Like Long, Schweich said he couldn't understand why some Missouri Republicans are embracing Santorum.

Santorum, contended Schweich, "puts on a good appearance...(but) when it comes to management of the country, he just doesn't fit the bill."

Republicans on all sides can expect to hear the pros and cons of that argument a lot this weekend at Lincoln Days.