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"Last night\u2019s Republican debate was (dare we say it) actually civil. The 12th GOP meet up was held at the University of Miami and moderated by CNN&amp;#39;s Jake Tapper alongside Dana Bash, Hugh Hewitt, and Stephen Dinan. The candidates were polite, respectful, and didn\u2019t interrupt each other. Maybe the GOP finally got the memo that America wants more than a reality TV series.\n\nIt was the last Republican debate before Florida and Ohio vote on March 15 in must-win home state contests for Senator Marco Rubio and Governor John Kasich, respectively. Traditionally, if a presidential candidate doesn\u2019t perform well in their home state, it\u2019s time for them to pack their bags. According to Dr. Mack Mariani, professor of political science at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, both Kasich and Rubio risk being knocked out of the race next week \u2014 which would narrow the field even further. Last night they were joined on stage by frontrunner Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz, who has the second biggest lead. There, the four calmly discussed issues spanning social security, veteran affairs, immigration, and international diplomacy. And their interactions were very diplomatic \u2014 people were shocked.\n\nhttps://twitter.com/mattdpearce/status/708114413060886528\n\nTrump won \u201Cbiggest attitude adjustment\u201D tonight. When asked about the surprisingly substantive debate, he responded that it was \u201Celegant\u201D and told CNN, \u201CWe needed this kind of a debate. We needed this kind of tone.\u201D During the exchanges, the business mogul threw in a few jokes, but didn\u2019t lash out when opponents criticized his ideas and message. \n\nhttps://twitter.com/politico/status/708124514912235520\n\nCruz forcefully tried to close the narrowing gap between him and Trump, while simultaneously appearing Presidential \u2014 a difficult balancing act. He countered Trump\u2019s weaker claims about the deficit, but his best  moment came when he wryly commented, \u201CWhat an incredible nation we have, that the son of a bartender and the son of mailman and the son of a dishwasher and a successful businessman, can all stand on this stage, competing and asking for your support.\u201D In case you missed all the polite action, here are five key points.\n\nRubio Won the Debate \u2014 But it Might Not Matter  \n\nfacebook dialogPinterest\n\nTonight, Rubio brought out the performance he&amp;#39;s been missing in the last few debates. Instead of attacking Trump, he delivered pointed responses with an undertone of optimism. Rubio explained, \u201CI know that a lot of people find appeal in the things Donald says because he says what people wish they could say. The problem is, presidents can\u2019t just say anything they want. It has consequences, here and around the world.\u201D \n\nHis strong answers on international policy and veterans affairs received praise from the Miami audience. When the topic of Cuba arose, which is important to the many Miami residents who fled to the city during Fidel Castro&amp;#39;s rule, Trump basically agreed with President Obama&amp;#39;s decision to end the embargo. &amp;quot;After 50 years, it&amp;#39;s enough time, folks,&amp;quot; Trump said. He just wanted a better deal than Obama got, and believes he&amp;#39;s the man to negotiate it. But when he insinuated that Cuba could sue America, Rubio had his strongest moment.\n\nOff-the-cuff, the senator said, \u201CI don\u2019t know where Cuba is going to sue us, but if they sue us in a court in Miami, they\u2019re going to lose.\u201D  The audience laughed and applauded while Rubio went on to knowledgeably outline the ability for America to negotiate (point-by-point) with Cuba to massive applause. It may not be enough to reverse Trump\u2019s sizable lead in Florida (or in delegates more generally), but last night Rubio gave Florida voters a lot to consider.\n\nhttps://twitter.com/politico/status/708224615332581379\n\nInternational Relations and Veterans  \n\nfacebook dialogPinterest\n\nOn other international relations, all candidates pledged strong support for Israel, and Trump revealed that he would send 20,000 to 30,000 troops to defeat ISIS on the advice he has heard from generals. &amp;quot;We really have no choice. We have to knock out ISIS. We have to knock the hell out of them. We have to get rid of it.&amp;quot; Cruz agreed: &amp;quot;We need to do whatever is necessary to utterly defeat ISIS. And that needs to be driven not by politicians but by military expertise and judgment.&amp;quot; The Texas senator pointed to arming those in the region, such as the Kurds, and then putting &amp;quot;whatever ground power is needed&amp;quot; to finish the job. \n\nWhen the question went to Kasich, he reminded everyone that he has &amp;quot;18 years on the Defense Committee, Armed Services, and was in the Pentagon with Donald Rumsfeld after 9/11.&amp;quot; And said, &amp;quot;We absolutely have to win this with a coalition. Arabs have to be with us.&amp;quot;\n\nBut placing U.S. troops on the ground comes at a serious cost. Tapper, one of the moderators, pointed to a Veteran&amp;#39;s Affair report that said 22 veterans commit suicide every day, and a majority have no connection to the V.A. Rubio answered first, pointing to the V.A. accountability bill that he passed with Bernie Sanders (a contender for the Democratic nomination) and saying the problem is that there is no oversight at the V.A. &amp;quot;No one&amp;#39;s being held accountable... the law I passed, it gives the V.A. secretary the power to fire people that aren&amp;#39;t doing a good job,&amp;quot; Rubio said. &amp;quot;When I&amp;#39;m president of the United States, if you work at the V.A. and you are not doing a good job, you will be fired.&amp;quot;\n\nBut one of the most troubling moments in the debate came when Trump doubled down on previous comments about Muslims. In an interview with the network&amp;#39;s Anderson Cooper from the previous night, Trump said Islam hates us. So Tapper asked, &amp;quot;Did you mean all 1.6 billion Muslims?&amp;quot; \n\nTrump, who has never been shy about what he thinks of people who practice Islam, said, &amp;quot;I mean a lot of them. I mean a lot of them... I will tell you there&amp;#39;s something going on that maybe you don&amp;#39;t know about, maybe a lot of other people don&amp;#39;t know about, but there&amp;#39;s tremendous hatred, and I will stick with exactly what I said to Anderson Cooper.&amp;quot;\n\nhttps://twitter.com/PolicyMic/status/708123591624232960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\n\nRubio was not having it though, and pointed to our many service members who are Muslim. He said, &amp;quot;Anyone out there that has the uniform of the United States on and is willing to die for this country is someone that loves America. No matter what their religious background may be.&amp;quot;\n\nTrade Deals  \n\nfacebook dialogPinterest\n\nOne of the reasons experts are citing for Bernie Sanders&amp;#39;s surprising win in the Michigan primary over rival Hillary Clinton on Tuesday is that he has a record of strong opposition to trade deals that the former Secretary of State supports. These deals, such as NAFTA, are credited with destroying U.S. manufacturing jobs. So it&amp;#39;s no surprise that the topic came up last night. The candidates were asked &amp;quot;whether trade deals have been good for the American workers.&amp;quot; This is especially important as many of the Rust Belt states, where trade has had the biggest impact, are voting next week. The trade agreements are something that Trump has called &amp;quot;disastrous&amp;quot; while they&amp;#39;ve seen support from John Kasich. \n\nSo Tapper asked the governor, &amp;quot;How do you respond to the criticism that you&amp;#39;ve been catering to board rooms at the expense of the American middle class?&amp;quot; Kasich defended his view, but said, &amp;quot;My position has always been we want to have free trade, but fair trade.&amp;quot; He said that 38 million Americans are connected to trade, and we just need to have stricter oversight on how other countries honor these agreements. He maintained that trade deals allow prices to remain low to consumers. Trump, however, said they&amp;#39;re putting U.S. companies at a disadvantage, and he&amp;#39;s the only one who knows how to fix it. \n\nThey Finally Talked Climate Change  \n\nfacebook dialogPinterest\n\nNotably absent from most of the Republican debates has been serious talk about climate change. That changed last night \u2014 well, kind of. Tapper asked the candidates \u2014 Rubio directly \u2014 about acknowledging it and how they would save our warming planet. This was a real chance for Rubio to set himself apart from the rest of the pack, but he instead mostly stuck to his party line. &amp;quot;There&amp;#39;s never been a time when the climate has not changed,&amp;quot; Rubio said. He then outlined why Florida floods, and responded, &amp;quot;But as far as a law that we can pass in Washington to change the weather, there&amp;#39;s no such thing.&amp;quot; \n\nIt was perhaps the most uncomfortable moment of the debate, especially since the question came from Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, who recently endorsed Rubio. Kasich, on the other hand, said he believes humans contribute to climate change, and addressing it won&amp;#39;t hurt the economy. \u201CThe fact is that you can have a strong environmental policy at the same time that you have strong economic growth and they are not inconsistent with one another,\u201D Kasich said. \n\nhttps://twitter.com/Newsweek/status/708132748221882369\n\nTrump Denies Encouraging Violence\n\nfacebook dialogPinterest\n\nA central theme at Trump&amp;#39;s rallies has been the violent ejection of protesters by supporters and security. It&amp;#39;s ugly, and after an endorsement from a former KKK grand wizard last week (and Trump&amp;#39;s divisive comments in general), many are wondering why the candidate isn&amp;#39;t calling for an end to these episodes. Just before the debate yesterday, a white man &amp;quot;sucker-punched&amp;quot; a black man who was being escorted out.\n\nTapper asked Trump about whether or not he encourages violence at his rallies. Trump denied doing so, but then the moderator started reading off violent quotes the candidate has made at his debates.\n\nhttps://twitter.com/ryanbeckwith/status/708133860224143360\n\nTrump responded that \u201CWe have some protesters who are bad dudes, they have done bad things.\u201D When his rivals were asked about the violence, they quickly shifted away from attacking Trump. \n\nWho Can Actually Win?  \n\nfacebook dialogPinterest\n\nTrump and Cruz agreed on one thing tonight: one of them will likely win the nomination. With Rubio and Kasich struggling to keep up, the Republicans are close to a two-man race. When asked about the odds of receiving the Republican nomination, Donald Trump said, \u201CI guess there\u2019s two of us up here that can and there are two of us that cannot at this moment. But if \u2014 no, that\u2019s just \u2014 by the way, that is not meant to be a criticism. That\u2019s just a mathematical fact. OK?\u201D When Cruz, who is on Trump\u2019s heels in the polls, was asked about how he would unite Trump\u2019s supporters, Cruz got halfway through his response, \u201CWell, look, there are some folks in Washington\u2026\u201D before Trump leaned into the mic and smirked, \u201CMake me president.\u201D Cruz responded with a deadpan, \u201CDonald, you are welcome to be president of the Smithsonian.\u201D \n\nWhen Kasich was asked by Hugh Hewitt about the math behind his slim chances at winning the nomination, his answer didn\u2019t really add up. He replied, \u201CWell, first of all, let\u2019s not \u2014 you know, math doesn\u2019t tell the whole story in politics. The great thing about politics, the reason why we watch it is because what\u2019s true today is not necessarily true tomorrow. So let\u2019s not get ahead of ourselves.\u201D Basically, Kasich isn\u2019t leaving before the Ohio showdown on Tuesday. \n\nNo matter who wins, however, last night the GOP finally did what America needed them to. They talked about the issues, and they debated them without interrupting each other or devolving into childish insults. \n\nRelated:  How Bernie Sanders Pulled Off a HUGE Upset in Michigan Last Night\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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