After past raucous rhetoric, civility rules at GOP debate

After past raucous rhetoric, civility rules at GOP debate

On the debate stage Thursday night in Miami, the four Republican presidential candidates calmly discussed their policies — a striking turnaround from the shouted insults of their previous few match-ups.

With just days until make-or-break voting in the home states of two candidates, front-runner Donald Trump's opponents may be more desperate than ever, but they didn't let it show.

When asked about violence that has broken out at many of his rallies, a reflective-looking Trump swallowed and said he certainly hopes he's not doing anything to incite violence.

Rubio similarly demurred, parroting back a moderator's rap that Trump's plan to cut enough "waste, fraud and abuse" from Social Security to save the program didn't add up.

Cruz's most stinging remark toward Trump came at the end of the night, and had the feel of a joke: "What an incredible nation we have that a son of a bartender (Rubio), a son of mailman (Kasich), a son of a dishwasher (himself) and a successful businessman (you-know-who) can all stand on this stage competing and asking for your support."

Asked if he meant all Muslims around the world, and not just those he and the others have referred to as radical Islamic terrorists, the plain-spoken Trump said, "I mean a lot of them."

In a memorable moment, Trump made the case that, if elected, he'd work hard to stop business executives like himself.

[...] when Trump didn't dramatically distance himself from President Barack Obama's move to normalize relations with Cuba, saying only he would want to make a strong, solid, good deal, Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, took the topic and ran: Here's a good deal.