Last night was the opening night of the 2012 Democratic convention. It was quite the contrast to the Republican convention. One of the biggest differences is that the candidate's name was actually mentioned. There was also a thought out progression to messages and the speakers.

It started with current and former Democratic officials and politicians, including Harry "Romney Paid Zero Taxes" Reid, several women House members (including Nancy Pelosi), a video from Jimmy Carter, Ken Salazar, and Robert Wexler.

The video screens behind the podium announced the theme of the remaining speakers, some well-known, and some private citizens. First was "Choice" (as in "Reproductive Choice"). Nancy Keenan - the head of NARAL - delivered an impassioned speech about preserving women's health choices. She contrasted sharply the president's views towards women in general and choice in particular with the Republican's attempts to redefine rape, allow companies to determine whether contraception is covered, and severely limit (or eliminate altogether) the option of abortion.

The next theme was the military, and support for military families and veterans issues. First we heard from Nate Davis, a vet who made use of the new GI bill to attend college and become a liason for vets seeking to get the benefits they deserve. He was followed by veteran Tammi Duckworth, running for the U.S. House in IL. She made quite the impression walking out onto the stage on her two artificial legs, and told a stirring personal story of how her family has been dedicated to serving in the military since they arrived on these shores. She praised President Obama for ensuring that she and others like her got the respect and help they needed. This all contrasted sharply with the Republican convention where mentions of the military were essentially completely absent.

From there, the theme transitioned to health care. If Republicans feel that "Obamacare" is a chink in the president's armor, the Democrats didn't get the memo. The embattled legislation was rightfully celebrated and praised. The first to speak was a mother of a child with a birth defect. She drove home the reality for a lot of families that this new law is the only thing standing between them and their child's likely death (and/or bankruptcy). Ted Strickland and Kathleen Sebelius echoed the simple idea that a costly health problem shouldn't be a death sentence or a cause of extreme financial hardship.

Rahm Emanuel, actor Kal Penn, and the brother and sister of the First Couple also spoke.

The final theme was "Equal Pay", highlighting the president's first legislative achievement: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This was celebrated by none other than the woman herself. With a southern accent as thick as molasses, she described a situation all too familiar with women - getting paid less for doing the same work. She took her employer to court, and fought it all the way to the Supreme Court, who told her she needed to file a grievance within a time limit based on when it happened, not on when she found out. After losing that, the only option for other women was to change the law. The new - named for her - does just that. Her (literal) trials and tribulations trying to achieve equality resonated with the crowd.

Despite their practiced slickness, governors Deval Patrick and Martin O'Malley could not match Ms. Ledbetter's simple passion. They came off as ... politicians.

In a bit of stagecraft, the keynote speaker San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro was introduced by none other than his twin brother Joaquin. Castro gave a fabulous speech highlighting what the American Dream means to so many: giving your children a better life than the one you had. He contrasted the Obama administration and the Romney plan, and how each would affect the have-nots. In describing Romney, it could easily be summed up in on phrase he used during his speech: "he just has no idea how good he's had it".

It would be a hard speech to follow, but the star of the evening was yet to shine. First Lady Michelle Obama absolutely dazzled. I have always been impressed with her strength, intelligence, and passion for her causes, but I was blown away by her address to the crowd. She touched on all the themes of the evening, weaving them together with the idea that it is the president's values that drive his politics, not the other way around. She had several big lines during the night:

It was all well written, well delivered, and well received... not a dry eye in the house. My only concern was that it went about 7 minutes long, and I hope the national news networks didn't cut it off to switch to local news coverage. Every American deserved to see this.

We watched on C-SPAN to avoid the interuptions typical on the news channels. Afterwards, we flipped around to the news channels to see how it was being discussed. On MSNBC, there was no lack of praise, even from the Republican analyst, although he did try to invoke Reagan. Over on FOX "News" they made sure to show the one person in the hall who appeared to be asleep, and avoided talking about the speech entirely, instead trying to create some negative buzz about the Democratic platform, which apparently doesn't include references to God nor Jerusalem. If that's all they've got, then you know it was a pretty good night for the Democrats.