BOCA RATON - Unlike the Democratic debate on Monday night, tonight's debate was a model of civility, with nary a harsh word exchanged among the five Republican candidates on stage over the course of the 90-minute event. Throughout the debate when candidates were offered the chance to attack each other directly, they demurred.

The consensus heading into the debate was that Rudy Giuliani had the most at stake, and that tonight was Giuliani's big chance - and perhaps his last chance - to revive his sagging poll numbers by shaking things up and going on the attack. If that is indeed what Rudy needed to do tonight, he failed.

All the candidates turned in solid performances, and for that reason it's unlikely that tonight changed anything. Romney may have benefited the most, if only because the first portion of the debate focused on what has turned out to be his strongest suit: the economy.

Romney fielded the first question of the night, comparing the provisions of his stimulus package to the one being pushed by President Bush. A bit later, Romney was able to tout his record in the private sector a critical asset in uncertain economic times. "Right now, as we face tough times," Romney said, "we need to have somebody who understands -- if you will, has the private sector, has the business world, has the economy in their DNA."

McCain acquitted himself well, defending his credentials on economic policy and pushing his bona fides as a pork-buster. Confronted by a quote of himself that raised the question of his grasp of economic policy, McCain rattled off a list of bullet points on his resume before concluding, "my credentials and my experience and my knowledge of these economic issues, I think, are extensive and I would match them against anybody who's running."

Huckabee also sought to use the focus on economy to play up the strength of his populist message, reminding his colleagues that he was the only one on the stage at the Republican debate in Michigan last October willing to admit that the economy had problems and those on the lowest rung of the economic ladder were hurting the most.

"What I think people need in the president," Huckabee said, "is somebody who understands the totality of the American family, and not just the folks at the top."

When the discussion finally turned to the subject of Iraq, both Romney and Giuliani went out of the way to take shots at Hillary Clinton. Romney said it was "audacious and arrogant" for Clinton to have asserted earlier in the week that progress in Iraq is due, at least in part, to the Democrats pressing to get US forces out as quickly as possible. Success in Iraq, Romney said, "due to the blood and the courage of our servicemen and women, and to General Petraeus and to President Bush. Not to General Hillary Clinton."

Giuliani blasted Clinton as well, suggesting her position on Iraq had evolved along with public polling. "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," Giuliani said. "And now when the polls are six out of 10 are against, Hillary Clinton is against the war."

The high point of the evening for Giuliani may have been when moderator Brian Williams read a particularly negative appraisal of Giuliani in the New York Times' endorsement of John McCain. Asked how his hometown paper could be so harsh, Giuliani replied "Because I probably never did anything the New York Times suggested I do in eight years as mayor of New York City. And if I did, I wouldn't be considered a conservative Republican." The audience, which had been instructed to hold its applause throughout the debate, applauded anyway.

If there was a questionable moment tonight for Romney, it came when Tim Russert pressed him on how much of his own money he'd spent on the campaign. "We'll report that on the 31st of January,as required by law," Romney said, "and probably not a minute earlier."

"But why not tell the voters of Florida and across the country how much of your own wealth you're spending," Russert followed up, "so they can make a judgment and factor that into their own decision?"

"Well, I'm not concerned about the voters" Romney said. " I'm much more concerned about the other guys on this stage."

In the spin room after the debate, Huckabee advisor Jim Pinkerton seized on Romney's response, saying that Romney's refusal to tell voters how much money he's sunk into his own campaign suggested "a kind of arrogance about his spending practices" that might turn voters off.

Perhaps that argument will gain traction over the next few days. For the moment, however, voters who were watching tonight's debate are unlikely to remember much if anything, except for the general sense that the candidates all acted remarkably civil toward each other.