Goffstown – With their presidential candidacies depending on a first-place finish in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, Republicans Mitt Romney and John McCain played nice early in tonight's debate at St. Anselm College.

Instead it was Iowa winner Mike Huckabee on the attack, with McCain assuming the role of above-the-fray front runner.

"I'm glad that everyone now supports the surge," McCain said in response to comments by Romney and Mike Huckabee.

The debate, dubbed "Fight Night" and sponsored by ABC News, WMUR television and Facebook, began just an hour after CNN and WMUR released a poll completed by the University of New Hampshire showing McCain leading Romney, 33 to 27 percent with 14 percent for Rudy Giuliani and 11 percent for Huckabee.

►WMUR and Monitor polls: Both races are still close (1)
►ARG poll: Obama, McCain take double-digit leads (1)

The first clash of the night among the major candidates came between Romney and Huckabee, who accused Romney of flip-flopping on support for the Bush Administration-directed, and McCain-supported, troop surge in Iraq.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, said he supported the surge "from the very beginning." Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, said Romney did not, adding that Romney at one point supported a "timed withdrawal."

"Don't try to characterize my positions," said Romney.

"Which one?" asked Huckabee.

Asked about the Bush foreign policy, Huckabee said he did not accuse the President of being arrogant or having a "bunker mentality." He said that, if elected, he would ensure the nation is "the strongest nation on earth, the most powerful and most prepared," but would use that power "in a very undersanding way."

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson said that while Bush's policies were not arrogant, they were "not perfect." In a global war against Islamic extremists, Thompson said, "We should only go in where we are able to."

Giuliani said Bush "got the big decision of his presidency right when he put us on offense against Islamic terrorism." The former New York City Mayor credited Bush for the fact that the nation has not been attacked since 9/11 and called for a dramatic increase in the size or the nation's military.

McCain agreed, saying, "America is not safe," but "America is safer.

"I know how to lead," added McCain. "I've been involved in these issues and I know how to solve them."

Republican presidential hopeful, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, center, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talk during a break in the Republican presidential debate at Saint Anselm College tonight.

Romney said that military strength must be coupled with use of "non-military resources" to help move the world of Islam toward modernity and toward moderation." He called for 100,000 more troops in the military.

Huckabee said Romney had claimed, "we had left Iraq in a mess.

"I supported the President before you did," Huckabee told Romney. "I'm not the one out there taking cheap shots at the President."

As they took the stage in the first of the first of two GOP faceoffs on back-to-back nights in New Hampshire, McCain and Romney were under pressure to finish first in the primary to maintain viability in the battle for the nomination. Both have invested huge amounts of time and resources in the Granite State.

The challenge for Giuliani, Huckabee, Thompson and Texas congressman Ron Paul was to break through the Romney-McCain dialogue and pick up some last-minute traction in what has become a two-person contest in the state.

Huckabee knows his evangelical credentials do not wear well among more secular New Hampshire Republicans and independents. Trying to find a way to pass Giuliani and finish third in the primary, Huckabee has been focusing on a populist, middle-class based economic message in the Granite State.

Giuliani denies that he has bypassed the New Hampshire primary even as he has seen his poll numbers drop here and as he focuses much attention on the Florida primary, scheduled for Jan. 29, and several large-state contests set for Feb. 5.

Thompson has virtually ignored New Hampshire, opting instead to make stands in Iowa, where he finished a distant third to Huckabee and Romney, and in South Carolina,which has a primary scheduled for Jan. 19.

Although he was on a New Hampshire stage tonight, Thompson, like Giuliani, was playing to a broad national audience.

Paul, the libertarian-leaning Republican and wild card in the race, was the target of all candidates when he criticized U.S. Intervention in the Islamic world.

Tonight, McCain, Romney, Thompson, Giuliani and Huckabee are scheduled to make their final pre-primary joint appearance in a forum sponsored by Fox News. Paul and California congressman Duncan Hunter were not invited.

Andrew Smith, an UNH associate professor political science, said the debates tonight and tonight are key for undecided voters and that with the GOP still in a state of flux, there was a clear potential for many voters to be influenced.

But he said most voters, and the media "will be watching it as if it were a NASCAR race. They'll be looking for crashes." Smith said prior to the debate viewers would have "a great chance of seeing on of those memorable moments in primary history," such as a major gaffe, "because the stakes are that much higher than they were at a debate in June or October." While much was riding on the debates tonight, Smith pointed out that at this late point, "It's far more important for the campaigns now to make sure they can get out their vote.

Smith said mostly, however, "Everyone will be watching how candidates operate when they are behind. We've seen Mitt Romney become more and more sharp as the race has tightened up, and when he's negative it doesn't look good to voters."