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Mitt Romney will say today he can extinguish the "prairie fire of debt" that's sweeping across the nation.
The presumptive GOP presidential nominee will speak this afternoon in Des Moines, in his first campaign appearance in the battleground state of Iowa since the state hosted caucuses in January.
"A prairie fire of debt is sweeping across Iowa and our nation, and every day we fail to act we feed that fire with our own lack of resolve," Romney will say, according to excerpts of his speech released by his campaign. "This is not a Democratic or Republican problem. That fire could care less if you have a donkey or an elephant in your front lawn, it's still coming for your house. "
Romney will argue that "there's plenty of blame to go around for both parties," but will take a swipe at President Obama for not doing more to curb spending and curtail federal budget deficits.
Obama's handling of jobs and the economy is central to Romney's candidacy, and it is a theme that both presidential candidates will stress.
"In my years leading businesses, an Olympics and a state, I've learned one simple principle of leadership that never falters: Leaders lead. I will lead us out of this debt and spending crisis," Romney will say.
Our colleagues at The Des Moines Register will cover Romney's speech today and we'll have more later from them on our Elections micro-site.