Manchester: Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney clashed with Mike Huckabee on foreign policy and John McCain on immigration in a high-stakes presidential campaign debate three days before the crucial New Hampshire primary.

"It s not amnesty," McCain shot back after Romney criticised his plan for overhauling the immigration system in the debate last night. "You can spend your whole fortune on these attacks ads, my friend, but it s not true." Earlier, Romney criticised Huckabee for having written that the Bush administration was guilty of an "arrogant bunker mentality" on foreign policy.

"Did you read the article before you commented on it?" asked Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor. "I read the article, the whole article," shot back Romney.

Romney s aggressive demeanor reflected the stakes in the wideopen race for the Republican presidential nomination. Huckabee defeated him in the Iowa caucuses on Thursday with an underfunded campaign.

Now Romney faces a strong challenge from a resurgent McCain in New Hampshire s first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday. Former Senator Fred Thompson, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Texas Rep.

Ron Paul also shared the stage, but they were largely eclipsed for significant portions of the 90-minute debate as Romney, McCain and Huckabee struggled for advantage.

Romney walked on stage with his first win under his belt, a triumph in the scarcely-contested Wyoming caucuses. The former Massachusetts governor, seeking to become the first Mormon president, said the outcome was "just the beginning."

Source : PTI