Romney to rev up campaigning, after rivals criticize his absence on debt debate

After spending much of the summer out of the spotlight, Mitt Romney will begin to rev up his campaign for the GOP nomination, beginning next week with stops in Iowa.

The former Massachusetts governor, who is off the trail this week spending time with his family at his home in New Hampshire, is set to appear at the Iowa State Fair next week. He'll also join his GOP rivals at a televised Fox News debate next Thursday, ahead of the state's 2012 straw poll in Ames.

But Romney, who has repeatedly said he won't campaign as heavily in the Hawkeye State as he did four years ago, will skip the straw poll and instead head to New Hampshire, a state pivotal to his nomination bid. Romney's campaign says the ex-governor's appearances are just the beginning of a more intense campaigning schedule for the candidate, as the GOP primary elections draw closer.

All of this comes as Romney has taken heat from his GOP rivals, including Jon Huntsman, for laying low during the recent debt ceiling debate. As The Ticket previously reported, Huntsman has seized on the issue, questioning Romney's leadership.

On Tuesday, Sarah Palin piled on, telling Fox News's Sean Hannity she had no "respect" for how Romney handled the debate.

"He waited until it was a done deal, that we would increase the debt ceiling ... and then he came out and made a statement that he didn't like the deal after all," she said. "You can't defer an issue and assume the problem is then going to be avoided. Mitt Romney and other candidates, you need to get out there, you need to tell the electorate what you really feel about these issues."