GOP candidates clean up their act in last debate before primaries in crucial states

A week after one of the most unruly debates in modern political history, the four remaining contenders for the Republican presidential nomination engaged in a polite parsing of their differences Thursday night over radical Islam, Social Security and other weighty matters.

There was no discussion of genitals, no schoolyard taunts, no candidates screaming to be heard over the shouting of others.

The two hours on a stage at the University of Miami in Coral Gables was one of the lowest-key sessions since the early, friendlier days of the GOP contest last summer.

“I cannot believe how civil it's been up here,” Donald Trump, the front-runner for the nomination and chief instigator in previous debate-night brawls, marveled half an hour into the staid affair.

Held five days before a crucial round of primaries in Florida, Ohio and other big states, the debate — the 12th of the Republican contest — seemed unlikely to alter the direction of the race in any meaningful way.