<p>With the Democratic National Convention starting today in Denver, I thought it would be prudent to see which search engine is handling the highly anticipated event the best. Of course, <a href="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080811-083625">Microsoft rocked the Olympics</a> and <a href="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080813-131339">outpaces everyone in mapping Georgia</a>, but who's got political game?</p>

<p>Microsoft proved again that it's on top of current events, but it's AOL that takes the cake in my book. First, AOL makes use of its design as a portal to serve up content on the homepage, which eliminates searching for today's biggest US story. </p>

<p>Then, AOL makes use of its news and content networks to provide relevant links in its search results. Something that caught my eye is a link to News Video. I would have thought YouTube would dominate online video for the conventions, especially considering their involvement in the debates. But YouTube left a lot to be desired, while AOL News Video served up relevant, organized video.</p>

<p><em>AOL Homepage</em><br />
<img alt="aolhomedem0808.jpg" src="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/aolhomedem0808.jpg" width="580" /><br />
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<em>AOL convention search results</em><br />
<img alt="aoldem0808.jpg" src="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/aoldem0808.jpg" width="580" /><br />
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<em>AOL News Video results</em><br />
<img alt="aolnewsvideodem0808.jpg" src="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/aolnewsvideodem0808.jpg" width="580" /><br />
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<em>YouTube results</em><br />
<img alt="youtubedem0808.png" src="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/youtubedem0808.png" width="561" /></p>

<p>Ask.com didn't have to do anything different. Their usual results, which includes a right sidebar with images, provided a nice offering of convention-related content. </p>

<p><em>Ask.com search results</em><br />
<img alt="askdem0808.jpg" src="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/askdem0808.jpg" width="580" /><br />
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Microsoft's Live.com could have made use of their <a href="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080731-083451">new design</a>, making the image of the day related to the convention. But they still have an Olympics-themed image up. Still, a search provides the latest convention news results at the top, and I like how their links to image, video, and other types of search are below the search box instead of on top. That helps users find what they're looking for even better. Searching for video via Live.com brings up results from AOL, YouTube and other sources such as the AP. The videos are organized like image results, which makes for quick browsing - probably quicker than AOL or YouTube. However, some of the videos are from past conventions.</p>

<p><em>Live.com search results</em><br />
<img alt="livedem0808.jpg" src="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/livedem0808.jpg" width="580" /><br />
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<em>Live.com video search results</em><br />
<img alt="livevideodem0808.jpg" src="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/livevideodem0808.jpg" width="580" /><br />
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As I was writing this, Yahoo changed its results. Before, it showed News Results about halfway down the page, now news results for the convention are at the top. This puts it on par with Microsoft. Yahoo does take slight advantage of being a portal to provide content right on the front page so no searching is involved. But today's headline is the new Dancing With the Stars cast and whether Kim Kardashian's foot injury will prevent her from participating.</p>

<p><em>Yahoo convention search results</em><br />
<img alt="yahoodem0808.png" src="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/yahoodem0808.png" width="580" /><br />
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Google offered nothing special. They both provided News Results, but placed them about halfway down the page. </p>

<p><em>Google results</em><br />
<img alt="googledem0808.png" src="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/googledem0808.png" width="580" /><br />
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<em>Yahoo front page</em><br />
<img alt="yahoohomedem0808.jpg" src="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/yahoohomedem0808.jpg" width="580" /><br />
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<p>But don't take my word for it. Do some searching of your own and then leave a comment giving your vote for best search engine for Presidential politics.</p><div class="feedflare">
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Read entire article: AOL, Live.com, and Ask.com Best Search Engines for Democratic National Convention Info