Romney Campaign Misleads on Santorum Quotation

The Romney campaign just sent out a press release titled "SANTORUM: WASHINGTON’S BEING MANAGED JUST FINE," highlighting a quotation from Rick Santorum's visit with faith leaders today in McKinney, Texas: "There's not a management problem in Washington, D.C., alright?" 

Campaign spokesperson Andrea Saul, referencing this quotation, says that Santorum said "there is not a problem with the way the federal government is being led." Saul opines, "That is ridiculous and again proves why conservatives can’t trust a Washington insider to fix the problems that Washington insiders created."

But take a look at what Santorum actually said. According to CNN, here's what Santorum said to faith leaders in Texas: 

Inside the chapel, Santorum made only a veiled reference to his GOP opponents, telling the pastors that the problems he sees in Washington D.C. are located at the root, and are "not issues of management" - a clear reference to Mitt Romney, who has consistently highlighted his experience as a manager to position himself as the candidate best-prepared to help steer the nation's economy.

"There's not a management problem in Washington, alright," Santorum said. "There's a more foundational problem there that goes to the basic concepts of who we are as a people. And those are deeply moral questions."

So the point of Santorum's full speech wasn't that "there's not a problem with the way the federal government is being led." It was really that the problem is deeper and more foundational than mere "management." It's a point Santorum has made frequently on the trail. But does anyone, including the Romney campaign, actually believe Santorum thinks Washington is "being managed just fine"?