If you have been anywhere near a television, cell phone, or computer that past few days, chances are you have heard or seen a man named Ken Bone.
The mild-mannered Shiloh, Illinois resident was thrust onto the national scene last Sunday night when he was selected to ask a question in the second presidential debate to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. While Bones’s question about energy policy had several important points, it was outshined by his bright red sweater, thick mustache, and jovial demeanor. After the debate, he used his disposable camera to take pictures of the surroundings (people asking questions at the debate are not allowed to bring in their phones).
Bone is making the best of his 15 minutes of fame, saying “My mustache and my sweater are probably my claims to fame. If you want to be me for Halloween, you’d better get in soon because this bad boy is sold out on Amazon.”
His midwestern humility was a breath of fresh air in an election year filled with contention and conflict. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have made a habit of attacking each other on a regular basis, and many average Americans are feeling left behind in the constant current of criticism, insults, scandal, and controversy.
In 2008, “Joe the Plumber,” a laborer who gained similar fame after asking a question at an Obama campaign event, was a daily reminder by Republican nominee John McCain’s presidential campaign of the average person who was distrustful of then-Senator Barack Obama’s policies.
Fast forward eight years to 2016, and Ken Bone (who says he is still undecided) takes the place “Joe the Plumber” once held. However, this time around, Bone is an undecided, Middle American voter who wants to talk about the issues, not the controversy and scandal the national news media likes to dwell upon.
We need more people like Ken Bone asking questions in politics. It would go a long way in climbing us out of the political gutter we find ourselves in.
Patrick Waters is a sophomore accounting major from St. Louis, Missouri.
