Haley Barbour: ‘Proctology exam’ needed for GOP post-election (VIDEO)

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says the GOP needs a "proctology exam" to figure out what went wrong in the 2012 election.

Barbour, speaking on a panel at a Republican Governors Association meeting, said Republicans need to improve their ground game to compete better four years from now after the drubbing they suffered this year, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

More from GlobalPost: Benghazi hearing: Capitol Hill probe begins

"The ground game is really important, and we have to be, I mean we've got to give our political organizational activity a very serious proctology exam,” Barbour said, pausing before identifying the remedy. “We need to look everywhere."

Like other Republicans in recent days, he stressed the need to reach out to Latinos and other minorities better and reform the party's messaging, CNN reported.

More from GlobalPost: The Petraeus affair: Full coverage

"We can catch up in four years doing this," he said. "This isn't rocket science, but it is hard work that we can't wait and start in 2016."

Barbour's comments come one day after GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney told top donors in a conference call that the president only won reelection because of "gifts" he provided to blacks, Hispanics and young voters, USA Today reported.

"The president's campaign, if you will, focused on giving targeted groups a big gift," he said Wednesday. "He made a big effort on small things." 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy