If Mitt Romney was in the crosshairs at Saturday night's Republican presidential debate, rival Mike Huckabee shared the heat at last night's forum, with the pair squaring off in personal terms over economic records and negative ads.

While Romney and Huckabee sparred, Arizona Sen. John McCain - who has surged to the lead of many polls in the run-up to tomorrow's New Hampshire primary - largely escaped the fray.

At one point, when each candidate was asked about his tax-cutting record, Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, quizzed Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, on how much taxes had increased on his watch "net-net." Huckabee retorted by asking about fees in Massachusetts.

"You know, Mike, you make up facts faster than you talk, and that's saying something," Romney said, one of the sharpest comments he's made in a debate so far.

For the record, according to Fox News moderator Chris Wallace, the tax increase in Arkansas over Huckabee's 10 years was about $500 million; the net fee increase in Massachusetts on Romney's watch was also about $500 million.

While Romney has also aired ads about McCain's vote on the Bush tax cuts - he voted against them - the Arizona senator exited the debate quickly, explaining that he supports tax cuts only when they're paired with spending cuts.

"I'm in favor of tax cuts. We'll do them," McCain said. "But we'll cut spending when I'm president of the United States."

If last night's debate at St. Anselm College in Goffstown made the campaign look like a Romney-Huckabee race, it may have been a week late and a state off. Huckabee and Romney were rivals in Iowa's leadoff caucus last week, where Huckabee staged a late surge to beat Romney - who had led in polls there for several months - by nine points. In New Hampshire, Romney faces a similar challenge from McCain.

Romney and McCain did get to square off on change and leadership. Coming off his Iowa defeat, Romney has emphasized the word "change," saying people should pick him because he's shown his capacity to overhaul enterprises in the business world and as CEO of the 2002 Olympics.

But McCain, a Navy veteran, argued that his foreign policy knowledge is crucial and said that he also has experience as a man in charge.

"All I can say is that I also had experience in leadership, not in management," McCain said. "I led the largest squadron in the United States Navy, not for profit, but for patriotism."

Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson, whose only appearances in New Hampshire this week have been at the debates, said that elections have always been about change.

"Well, you know, we're all talking about change now," he said. "We had some folks vote in Iowa. Then everybody came out of there now talking about change."

At times, the exchanges between Romney and Huckabee turned personal.

Huckabee, a former Baptist preacher who last night extolled public schools "because kids like me wouldn't be sitting here" without them, has taken a populist tone on the campaign trail. He's often told crowds that voters want to elect a president who reminds them of "the guy they work with, not the guy that laid them off."

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