A few days ago I was asked to write a sponsored review of Actual Politics, the brainchild of three men interested in “tak(ing) the spin out” of politics: Terry and Phillip, veterans of the United States Navy, and David, who is still stationed in Bahrain. The site features user commentary from across the political spectrum, which other users can then rate and identify as “Moderate”, “Liberal’, “Radical Liberal”, “Conservative” or “Arch Conservative”. All-in-all a great concept that these guys have clearly worked long and hard to present.

The first thing that hits you when visiting Actual Politics is the clean-cut, modern interface with straight-forward navigation. The custom-made logo changes as you browse the issue sections, from moneybags in the “Economy” area to a caduceus in “Healthcare”. There is a clear separation between “Liberal” and “Conservative” commentary, the featured box on the homepage is fully interactive, the rating system is beautiful, the sign up process a cinch, and the article submission system is very professional. My only real criticism is the location of the RSS link. I’d recommend making it more prominent, perhaps even placing it in the top navigation bar.

Of course, the reason you come to any blog or general website is for the content. Some provide spam-like repetitions of already-written material while others provide thoughtful, quality opinions on the pressing issues of today. It’s clearly the latter case with the commentators at Actual Politics. I may not agree with everything they write (especially the Liberal perspective), but it’s at least cohesive and the writers are passionate. There’s also an active forum for members to discuss the issues in a more direct, rapid manner. I, for one, have added the site to my feed reader.

Finally, we come to the media section and store. The Actual Politics Store consists of more than just the site’s logo on custom merchandise. You’ll find creative designs on coffee cups, shirts, and much more for Liberals, Conservatives, and moderates alike. The media section contains cartoons (though there doesn’t appear to have been an update since July) and videos whose bias is clearly identified by the color of the title. Again, could use with a bit of an update, but not too big of a drawback.

Overall, I wish the owners of Actual Politics success and I believe they’ll find it. With an actively-contributing community of passionate authors, devoted owners, and a great concept, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them become one of the online political world’s most prominent spots.