DENVER – I respectfully disagree with those who say that political conventions are not important. I sometimes wonder why some of my colleagues in the media are shooting themselves in the foot by questioning the validity of the conventions as they are covering them. It's like saying: "Here I am wasting my time and yours, and getting paid to do so. Don't watch our television shows, don't listen to our radio programs, don't read our newspaper articles that report on conventions."

I say: If you can, watch the convention coverage wall to wall, listen to every radio show and read every article written about it. Better yet, go to C-SPAN or a webcast of the convention and listen to what each of the speakers has to say, unfiltered. If you want some perspective, then you can go to a news source that you trust and hear its take on it.

Some of the criticism is valid. Gone are the days when these huge party meetings held the mystery of who the presidential candidate would be and the excitement of having each state delegation argue for and against the issues.

Now, by the time the conventions come around, the presidential candidate and even his vice-presidential pick already have been decided, and the platform has been written by party officials and is merely ratified on the convention floor. Conventions have become a sort of crowning ceremony. It's a four-day public-relations campaign.

But you see, that is part of the democratic process. The parties raise money and receive the government funds due to them by law to conduct their campaigns. The conventions play an important role in that campaign.

Too many voters feel disenfranchised, either because they don't understand the system or are not interested in it. The conventions become the parties' opportunity to try to catch the voters' attention a couple of months before they have to make the crucial decision of whom to vote for. They are an opportunity for the parties to introduce themselves and their candidates to the voters and announce what they stand for.

The conventions also serve as a motivating factor for delegates and superdelegates, whose job it is not only to vote for the party ticket and its agenda, but to go out to their communities and campaign for their respective party.

In trying to attract a specific voter bloc, the parties need to show how diverse and inclusive they really are. In the Democratic Convention, there were more than 600 Hispanic delegates – a record number – and several Latino speakers went to the podium, including Federico Peña, who served in two Cabinet positions under President Clinton, and several members of Congress. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson had a prime-time role on the last day of the convention.

As I was writing this, Republicans had not yet released the number of Hispanic delegates who would be attending their convention, but they had lined up Latino speakers such as Sen. Mel Martinez, former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin and Miami Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart.

Democrats have the upper hand when it comes to the Latino vote, with about 65 percent supporting Obama, according to the latest polls. In the most recent survey of Latino voters by the Pew Hispanic Center, 55 percent said that the Democratic Party "understands the concerns of their community," while only 5 percent say Republicans do. Prove them wrong, Republicans.

The best thing that can happen in a democracy is that the voters are engaged and well-informed. It is the responsibility of the voters to get to know the candidates and listen to their positions on the issues that affect them, and to make up their own minds about whom to vote for. Take advantage of the conventions, because after the party is over, you'll be bombarded with negative ads. And that is no way to elect a president.

Reach Maria Elena Salinas at www.mariaesalinas.com.