Having "held the fewest solo news conferences of any president since records were kept" - 15 so far - may be hurting George Bush [3] in the debates. Presidential rhetoric specialist Wayne Fields [4] said, "If you don't talk to the press and deal with audiences with some degree of skepticism, you can't build understanding so people have confidence in you in hard times." The "Ask President Bush" forums "are tightly managed by the Bush-Cheney campaign [5], with the president calling mainly on people sitting in sections filled with his most loyal supporters." While Senator John Kerry [6]'s campaign events are "notably less scripted," Kerry has also been criticized [7] for ignoring the media.