At their national convention, the democrats gave something missing from the republican one: answers and reasons to believe their platform.

Instead of Ann Romney screeching “I love our women” and constant references to moms, Lilly Ledbetter spoke on how Obama helped her fight for equal pay for women.  She talked about the actual fair pay act that Obama signed into law.

It is a lot easier to believe that a party and presidential candidate are for women when you have such a clear-cut example of that belief. The GOP paraded a lot of women saying that their party supported them, but compared to Ledbetter’s speech, their speeches seemed silly and empty.

On the subject of the economy, democrats did the same great job of putting ideas and arguments to their platform. Bill Clinton explained in numbers why the democrat tax cuts were better. He talked about how much the very rich would benefit from the republican tax plan. Clinton talked in numbers about how Obama helped grow jobs. He talked about Obama’s support of education through grants and the like. It was nice to hear something more than tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.

One thing Obama will always be remembered for was his hope and change message from 2008. He’s returning back to that somewhat, but he’s improved the message and changed it to match today’s climate. He said during his speech, “I have never been more hopeful about America. Not because I think I have all the answers. Not because I’m naive about the magnitude of our challenges. I’m hopeful because of you.”

Its funny that he would use the word naive because that’s exactly what I felt his hope and change message was in 2008, but I think that naivety is long gone. It’s hard to put into words what has changed about the message that makes it seem that way.

But there’s something in the way he talks about how he learned about the loss of life in war, in the challenges he faced this term, that when he said, “our path is harder, but it leads to a better place,” it’s a message of hope that seems more realistic, more believable.

And after hearing all the attacks against Obama, it was nice to hear a positive message.

The petty bickering and emotional appeals of the GOP’s convention was definitely more interesting to watch, but I left watching that convention with a sense of cynicism and anger about the emptiness of politics.

The Democrats brought it back to what I expect and want out of these conventions, logical and emotional arguments for your platform and presidential candidate. It may be a bit boring to hear numbers about taxes and job growth, but without facts the endless emotional appeals began to blend together and seem silly.

I’m not saying that the Democrats didn’t make those sometimes-silly emotional appeals. They did for sure. But those appeals were less about anger and attacks and were balanced out with speeches about acts being passed and things being accomplished. It just made for a more sensible picture of a political party.

So voters will decide whether they want fiery and combative or sensible and reasoned. That’s the choice that the two parties presented at their conventions.