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What Is Ken Bone's Actual Job?

by Lani Seelinger

Much of the coverage following the second presidential debate has been exhaustingly negative — except for one beautiful ray of red-tinted light. Ken Bone, the uncommitted voter who grabbed the internet's heart after asking a question about energy policy, is definitely the biggest net winner of the whole night. The problem is, however, that besides his gorgeous red sweater, no one actually knows anything about him. Even the basics are a mystery, like what Ken Bone's job actually is.

Bone's question actually gives us a hint as to what he does in his everyday life, when he's not snapping pics with his disposable camera on the debate stage. He asked the million-dollar question when it comes to energy issues, about how the next president would balance environmental awareness with a desire to avoid job loss for people working in the fossil fuel sector.

As it turns out, this question hits close to home for Bone, who is a coal plant operator in Illinois, working 12 hour shifts in an industry that has come under attack from environmentalists and scientists who point to coal as a major polluter. This job in particular puts Ken Bone squarely in the middle of the circle of undecided voters who Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are fighting over most fervently, and Bone himself says that he's been feeling both pulled and put off by both sides.

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Trump, he feels would be better with the economy overall, and he feels that his job at the coal plant (which, he emphasizes, is recently built and as environmentally friendly as possible) would be safer under a Trump presidency. On the other hand, he feels that Clinton would represent the country better overall and preserve the civil rights gains that the country has seen during Obama's tenure.

For voters who are strongly for Clinton or strongly for Trump, Bone offers a personal insight as to how someone could still be undecided even in an election cycle like this one. He clearly cares very deeply about both his job and his country, and a vote for one isn't necessarily a vote for the other. It's easy just to look at numbers and percentages, but Ken Bone, in his lovable red sweater, can transcend that and teach us all something in the process.

Before the debate, Bone reports that he was leaning towards Trump, but apparently Clinton's performance impressed him. He's still got time and one more debate to help him make his final decision, and he says that he's going to wait until after the last debate to decide. You take all the time you need, Ken Bone. You are, after all, the very best of us.