Candidates give what is called "a stump speech." It is their spiel about why to vote for them, that they give over and over again for months, at the rate of dozens of times some days.

Ron Paul's stump speech sometimes appeared in the midst of his campaign speeches. His speeches were more like university lectures. In every new speech, he would throw in some new detail or series of details about history or economics or philosophy that was totally lost on many of us.

It was a very challenging campaign, because you either came to dislike the candidate or to be willing to do the homework he gave you each night when he spoke. One speech he would bring up a shocking detail of how the Fed was started, the next speech he would quote a thinker from the 1960s on why the state doesn't like homeschools, the next speech he would tell the story of a broken promise made to military veterans in 1904.

Donald Trump does something similar in his campaign speeches — being the counter-voice to the media. He tells you to watch out for some of the lies you are seeing in the news. His public appearances can be a very powerful source of perspective on contemporary information and happenings.