Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, showing frustration over criticism that she represents the status quo, lashed out last night at the two rivals who beat her in last week's Iowa caucuses.

``Making change is not about what you believe,'' an agitated Clinton told Barack Obama and John Edwards after they faulted her campaign tactics during a debate, the last before New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 8. ``It's not about the speech you make. It's about working hard.''

In a preceding Republican face-off on the same stage in Manchester, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was the chief target of Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. They accused him of changing his positions and flooding the airwaves with negative advertising.

After Romney complained that he was once misquoted, Arizona Senator McCain fired back. ``When you change your position,'' McCain said, ``you will get misquoted.''

During an exchange over immigration, former New York Mayor Giuliani said Romney would have run negative advertisements against Ronald Reagan, who presided over an amnesty for illegal immigrants in the 1980s.

On the Democratic side, New York Senator Clinton, 60, blamed Illinois Senator Obama for offering a health-care plan that wouldn't require all adults to carry coverage, as would the plans she and Edwards are proposing. ``You stopped short of going the distance to make sure that we had a system that could actually deliver health care for everyone,'' Clinton said.

`Status Quo'

Obama, 46, the winner of Iowa's Jan. 3 Democratic caucuses, didn't directly respond to Clinton's charge, leaving Edwards to level the harshest attacks on the former first lady. Edwards, the former North Carolina senator who placed second in Iowa, hit Clinton hardest for being a representative of the ``status quo'' and for disparaging his and Obama's efforts to change Washington.

``The forces of status quo are going to attack every single time,'' Edwards, 54, said while gesturing in Clinton's direction. ``I didn't hear these kind of attacks from Senator Clinton when she was ahead.''

Clinton responded that her opponents are merely ``running on a promise of change,'' while she can offer voters ``35 years of experience making change.''

Obama also didn't respond to Clinton's charges that he changed his positions over the last three years on issues such as the Patriot Act and funding for the Iraq war. Obama instead allowed Edwards to go on the attack. ``I want John to get in on this,'' said Obama.

Upset Victory

Showing confidence after his upset victory in Iowa, Obama appeared calm throughout the debate. He stressed his early opposition to the war and his commitment to changing the way Washington works, while praising the very opponents who are increasing their attacks on him. ``These are all good public servants,'' Obama said.

In the earlier Republican debate, Romney and Huckabee also squabbled over foreign policy. ``I disagree with the governor writing in Foreign Affairs magazine that the president's administration suffers from an arrogant, bunker mentality,'' Romney said. Huckabee said he was being unfairly attacked and that Romney has said the Bush administration ``had left Iraq in a mess.''

``You've also said that you weren't going to have this `my way or no way' philosophy,'' Huckabee told Romney. ``I supported the president in the war before you did. I supported the surge when you didn't.''

`That's Wrong, Governor'

Romney, 60, who was upset by Huckabee in Iowa's Republican caucuses, said he also was an early supporter of adding troops in Iraq. ``I do not support and have never supported a timed withdrawal, so that's wrong, governor,'' Romney said. ``You know, it's really helpful if you talk about your policies and the things you believe, and let me talk about my policies.''

Huckabee, a 52-year-old former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister, stunned his better-financed rivals with his late surge in Iowa, and made several of his effective, comic barbs in the debate while avoiding any big mistakes. His message of economic populism and social conservatism, which won in Iowa, faces a tougher battle in more secular New Hampshire.

McCain, who says he's now the frontrunner in New Hampshire, sought to stay above the fray for much of the debate. On several occasions, however, he relished taking shots at Romney, reflecting a personal animus toward his rival.

Siding With Bush

The Republican candidates gave credit to President George W. Bush for keeping the country safe from terrorist attacks since Sept. 11 and changing his strategy in Iraq.

``We are succeeding now in Iraq,'' McCain, 71, said. Giuliani, 63, said Bush ``got the big decision of his presidency right: the big decision that he made on Sept. 20, 2001, when he put us on offense against Islamic terrorism.''

During last night's debate, sponsored by ABC News and WMUR at St. Anselm College, the candidates found some agreement on health care, with McCain, Romney, and Giuliani praising America's free-market system as the envy of the world. They cited inflationary pressures on costs as the main problem afflicting the system.

Romney won a majority of delegates at the Wyoming caucuses yesterday, according to the state's Republican Party Web site. Romney won at least eight delegates. The state lost some of its delegates for holding its caucuses before the New Hampshire primary, and Romney supports restoring the full delegation.

A CNN/WMUR survey of New Hampshire primary voters conducted after the Iowa caucuses had Clinton and Obama tied at 33 percent. Edwards trailed at 20 percent. Among Republicans, McCain led at 33 percent, followed by Romney at 27 percent, Giuliani at 14 percent and Huckabee at 11 percent.

The CNN/WMUR poll showed that 56 percent of independents planned to vote in the Democratic primary and 44 percent would vote Republican. Most other surveys in the state, where independents make up as much as 40 percent of the electorate and can vote in either primary, show a higher percentage of independents voting for Democrats. If the other polls are correct, the WMUR/CNN poll probably understates the support for Obama and overstates McCain's share of the vote.

To contact the reporter on this story: Hans Nichols in New Hampshire at hnichols2@bloomberg.netCatherine Dodge in Washington, at Cdodge1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 6, 2008 01:00 EST