democrats vs republican convention.. who did better?

Ok, this is a risky topic, but I promise my motive is not political, (Although give me the time and place and I'm always up for a few rounds of political argy bargy!! :)

Its a good opportunity to compare two events with similar motives and see how two different approaches worked.

Who did better? Staging wise? Which convention conveyed its message, through the overall look and production of it and came out on top? Politics aside if at all possible... (I know that the message is tied with the look, but I'm not talking about what the politics is, just whether the creative help sell it.)

Certainly to me both had a very different look and both were incredibly eye catching.
But in weighing it all up, when you consider how these things are designed and how they come across on TV etc, who do you think dressed their message up the best (in the design and execution of the event NOT the politics spouted at the podium)

I was immediately pretty impressed with the Dems stage, it looked fantastic, but then the Republicans went with very stripped back less is more feel. I think it ultimately looked better watching on TV. I think it left the Democratic staging looking like a carousel. ouch.
The simple use of one MASSIVE screen, polished stage and simple design really branded the event a little better for them. (U2 have cottoned onto this fact over the years)

But little directorial blemishes did over take them. Ultimately most shots you see on TV are close up, which left speakers with plain backgrounds, and leaving open the greenscreen look mistake.. again!

Then there was Obama's outdoor event. In close up, it looked good in my opinion, but did the staging in the wide shots play to their opponents message more instead of theirs? Was the mini white house look over stepping it? (I thought the atmosphere more than justified it, creatively speaking.. man, I'm sailing close to the wind here. :)

Anyway, not sure if this is a very active forum, but it is very much to do with out business, so I thought it was worth a look. If nothing else, I'd love the budget to play with... wow.

cheers