Though it is now almost obsolete, I loved msnbc.com’s Candidates + Issues Matrix at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21116732 .
The interactive feature depicts a chart of each candidate who officially announced candidacy for the Republican or Democratic presidential nomination. Under each candidates column, it shows their stance on a host of key issues in this election cycle. It makes it very easy to identify which candidate is most closely identifiable with one’s own beliefs on each issue.
I particularly liked that in each cell, a brief summary was accompanied by an additional video of the candidate explaining his or her viewpoint on the issue. When clicking right down the row, a person can see or read each candidate’s stance on the same issue. Alternately, by clicking down the column, the user can see each candidate state their stance on a bevy of issues. This allows users to become educated very quickly about how each candidate matches his or her own belief system.
Furthermore, it allows users to vote on whether the agreed or disagreed with the candidate’s viewpoint, giving an (albeit unscientific) account of where the people lie on the same issues. It’s just another little added bonus that will cause users to stick around the page even longer.
By now, with only a few candidates remaining, it serves as a reminder of how far the race has come, and how many once-presidential hopefuls have been left behind.
