MANCHESTER, N.H. — Hillary Rodham Clinton lost the luxury of being polite along with the Iowa caucuses.

On the ropes after a third-place finish, Clinton is coming out swinging against new Democratic front-runner Barack Obama with a vigor she hasn't shown before in the contest she used to lead. She says she is the candidate who deserves the mantle of change, not this newcomer Obama.

Sunday morning, with the New Hampshire primary in sight, she told supporters here, "There's a big difference between talking and acting, between promising and performing. Over the next three days, I'm going to be making that case."

She had made the same case just feet from Obama in a debate the night before, raising her voice and jabbing her finger as she said, "I'm not just running on a promise of change. I'm running on 35 years of change."

Obama, speaking at a rally in Manchester on Sunday, retorted to another of Clinton's comments in the debate.

"For many months I've been teased, almost derided for talking about hope," he said. "You saw it in the debates last night. One of my opponents said we can't just, you know, offer the American people false hopes about what we can get done."

"I know how hard this will be," he said. "I know how hard it is going to be for us to deliver health care for Americans who need it. ... I know we will be resisted when we try to make this economy more balanced and more fair."

Obama also sought to take any remaining thunder from John Edwards, who has been waging a populist campaign focused on blistering criticism of corporate America. Obama cast himself as distinct from Edwards — and from Clinton's claim that only she knows how to confront Republicans.

"Change can't just come from anger," Obama said. "It won't come from turning up the heat on Republicans."

During the debate, Clinton's criticism got Obama and John Edwards ganging up on her. Edwards apparently decided if he can't beat Obama in New Hampshire, he'll try to join him.

"Both of us are powerful voices for change," Edwards said at the debate, rising to Obama's defense. "And if I might add, we finished first and second in the Iowa caucus, I think in part as a result of that."

Edwards didn't mention he beat Clinton for second place by only three-tenths of a percentage point. He's calculated that if he can force Clinton out of the race, he might have a chance of beating Obama in a two-man contest.

Asked Sunday about an alliance with Obama, Edwards said, "I think there is a conviction alliance." Then he added, "First of all, I wouldn't go so far as to call it an alliance. Let me disagree with that. ..."