Republican presidential candidates gathering last night for their final debate before the Florida primary were on the whole genteel with one another and trained their fire instead on one of the leading Democrats, Senator Clinton.

Despite the lack of any clear front-runner in the Republican field, several of the candidates seemed eager to look like general election candidates by swinging at Mrs. Clinton, who is deeply unpopular with Republican primary voters.

The toughest shot came from Mitt Romney, who dressed Mrs. Clinton down for suggesting that her pressure for an American withdrawal has had positive consequences in Iraq.

“What an audacious and arrogant thing for the Democrats to say, as Hillary Clinton did, that they are responsible for the progress that the surge has seen by virtue of their trying to pull out so quickly,” Mr. Romney said. “The success over there is due to the blood and the courage of our service men and women and to General Petraeus and President Bush, not to General Hillary Clinton.” Senator McCain said America’s soldiers want to see the war through. “They don’t want to us wave the white flag of surrender like Senator Clinton does. They know we can win,” he said, echoing a point he made throughout the day.

Mayor Giuliani also joined in, denouncing the former first lady for being buffeted by the winds of public opinion on Iraq. “When the polls were six and seven out of 10 Americans thinking it was a good idea, Hillary Clinton was in favor of the war. Now, when the polls are six out of 10 are against, Hillary Clinton is against the war,” Mr. Giuliani said. “I’m for it not because of polls but because America is in a war, an Islamic terrorist war against us.”

The punches the Republican contenders threw at each other seemed to pale in comparison to the shadow-boxing with Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Giuliani had the most at stake last night. He has slipped to third place in Florida opinion polls, despite having focused nearly all of his attention and money on the state in recent weeks. In response to a question about foreign investments in Citigroup and Bank of America, the former mayor delivered a rousing defense of free markets.

“America is in a global economy. That’s what we are. That’s where we are,” Mr. Giuliani said. “When countries invest in the United States there’s a mutuality of interests that’s developed that is helpful to us.” No one expresses much concern now about the wave of Japanese investment in the 1980s, he noted.

The former mayor’s answer is sure to score points with academics and many investors but may not resonate with jittery working-class people and Florida retirees, who have been highly skeptical about high-profile investments in America like the proposed takeover of some American ports by a company from Dubai.

In contrast to Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Huckabee struck a decidedly populist tone. When asked about the stimulus package endorsed by President Bush and house leaders yesterday, the former Arkansas governor fretted about how it will put America further in debt to those overseas.

“We’ll probably end up borrowing this $150 billion dollars from the Chinese, and when we get those rebates checks, most people are going to run out and buy stuff that’s being imported from China,” Mr. Huckabee said. “I have to wonder who’s economy is going to be stimulated the most by the package.” He said he would rather use the money to build an additional two lanes of interstate between Maine and Florida, which he said would create more American jobs and relieve traffic.

Mr. Huckabee allied himself with the working man again by talking about a debate in October in Michigan where he said he stood alone in voicing concern about the economy, even as the others saw no sign of trouble. “Every one of my colleagues said, ‘It’s doing great, and they gave all the numbers,” he said. “People acted like I was the only guy at the U.N. without a headset that night. … If you pay attention to the people who are the single moms and the working people, who barely get from paycheck to paycheck, you’d find out months in advance that this economy was headed for a downward turn.

When asked about the possibility of running against both Mrs. Clinton and her increasingly vocal husband, President Clinton, this fall, Mr. Romney shot a zinger at the former president. “I frankly can’t wait, because the idea of Bill Clinton back in the White House with nothing to do is something I just can’t imagine.” Pressed to explain what he meant, Mr. Romney demurred.