Keller: Top moments from debate between Sen. Elizabeth Warren, John Deaton
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
BOSTON - For the first time Tuesday night, Senator Elizabeth Warren and her challenger John Deaton went head-to-head in a debate held here at the WBZ studios, co-sponsored by the Boston Globe.
It's hard to absorb how a debate plays when you're the moderator watching the clock and policing the candidates. But after a night's rest and a chance to watch it all again, here are my picks for the four most memorable moments, starting with:
Sen. Warren moments
John Deaton was intent on marketing himself to anti-Trump voters. "She called me a MAGA extremist Republican recruited by the Trump machine when she knew that I was even more critical of Trump than she has been," complained the challenger early on.
Warren's response: a relentless emphasis on the similarities between Deaton's pitch and the national GOP strategy. Some samples, all drawn from a short stretch during the debate's early moments:
"The Republican playbook is one that Donald Trump has perfected."
"This is a page out of the Donald Trump playbook."
"He's taking a page out of the same playbook."
"Let's be clear - this is the Republican playbook and it's the same playbook over and over and over."
Another Deaton self-branding: as a staunch defender of abortion rights. "When is a Republican going to defend and protect a woman's right to choose and protect her own health issues and be pro-abortion? Guess what, that Republican is here," he said.
But when Deaton insisted he'd never jeapordize the right to choose of his three daughters, Warren countered with this memorable line:
"I appreciate that Mr. Deaton has three daughters. The justices who set Roe v Wade on fire and burned it to the ground collectively have ten daughters. And Donald Trump has two daughters, that we know of."
Ouch!
John Deaton moments
Memorable Deaton moments included this never-before-seen boast about how a client he helped is donating big money...to the Democratic presidential nominee: "If I didn't do what I did, sue the FTC on behalf of small retail investors, that donation to your candidate of choice, senator, would not have happened. So, Madam Vice President, if you're watching, you're welcome."
And then there was this succinct zinger.
Deaton: "I've got news for you senator - all of you suck in Congress, all of you, it's a broken system."
Debate viewers often remember the style of the candidates more than the content of their remarks, and in that regard, Warren was Warren, her usual combative self, although she was visibly taken aback at Deaton's description of the members of Congress.
That might have been a bit harsh for some viewers, but I thought Deaton - for a first-time candidate in his first prime-time TV debate - did a good job walking the line between combative and offensive, conveying empathy for people, and weaving in his compelling personal story.
Will it be enough to turn this into a close race?
Probably not, but he flashed some political skills that are in short supply in state Republican circles these days.