Presidential candidates go into debates hoping to showcase their strengths. But the Republican debate at the University of New Hampshire on Wednesday gave each of the race's leading contenders a different chance - to face his greatest weakness.

"If Fox News is a Republican channel, they really did them no favors last night," said Wayne Lesperance, an associate professor of political science at New England College. "I don't think any of them hit the ball out of the park in terms of dealing with those things."

Analysts called it a good night for Arizona Sen. John McCain, in part for how he owned his challenge. The candidate most closely tied with President Bush and with the current strategy in Iraq, McCain didn't distance himself from that history. He touted his faith in the surge and his personal experience as a Navy veteran - and even chastised former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for stopping short of calling the surge an out-and-out success.

Romney had a rougher night. Opponents have worked to tag him as a flip-flopper, and in that exchange on Iraq with McCain, he sounded like a man who was "hedging his bets," Lesperance said. Romney said he wanted to wait to judge until Gen. David Petraeus's report to Congress this month, leaving himself some room to recalibrate his stance.

But more than one said that the attacks from his opponents show that Romney's lead in the polls in early states has made the rest of the field nervous. "When you're the front-runner in Iowa, the front-runner in New Hampshire, you're the target," said Dante Scala, an associate professor of political science at UNH.

Romney also took a personal question from the father of a National Guardsman in Iraq who said he was offended by comments in which the candidate appeared to liken his sons' work for his campaign to military service.

Deputy Strafford County Sheriff Mark Riss, who asked the question, said that it felt good to get his grievance off his chest and that he's accepted Romney's apology. But Riss, who said he's an undecided independent who leans Republican, said he wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"I thought he never really answered the question," he said. "What I was looking for from him was a response as to how he would end the conflict in Iraq, and he did not provide that to me. In fact, he did not even come close."

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani had a better night, analysts said, getting in a good response on illegal immigration and dealing with an issue that has dogged him with some conservatives: His family life. Giuliani, who is now married to his third wife and has a difficult relationship with his children, emphasized that voters should look at his performance in public life to determine the kind of president he will be.

As New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen put it, "He wasn't knocked off his game."

Riss, who said he came out of the debate rooting for McCain with either Giuliani or former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, said the answer impressed him. "My wife has some issues with his personal character. I thought he answered very well on it," he said. "Actually, he gave the only answer he can: 'I'm not running on that issue.' "

Conventional wisdom goes that voters tune in to the presidential race after Labor Day, and Nielsen ratings released yesterday appeared to verify that. More than 3 million people tuned in Wednesday night, giving the debate the highest ratings of any debate for either political party so far this year, according to numbers provided by Fox News.

That could help McCain, whom many commentators deemed the winner of the debate. He's had a rough spring and summer. First, he alienated some of his party's base with his full-throated defense of an immigration bill that included a path to legalization for illegal immigrants. For months, news of his campaign has consisted of plummeting poll numbers, departing staffers and reports of a depleted bank account.

"If Republicans are just tuning in up here, I think they probably watched and said, 'Gosh, he seems to be doing fine for me,' " Scala said.

Huckabee also had a good night, as he's had at all the debates, analysts said. In this week's debate, Huckabee got a part in what might be the breakout moment - sparring with anti-war Texas Rep. Ron Paul about the United States' obligations in Iraq.

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