Despite more than 20 years in the news business I have never lost my admiration for the imaginative ways that professional politicians can avoid answering a question.

In the early days of last year's presidential campaign I had the opportunity for a one-on-one interview with Senator Chuck Robb of Virginia. The hot button topic at that time had to do with allegations regarding then Governor Bush's youthful experiences with cocaine. At the time Bush was being very close mouthed on the topic and the public debate then centered on whether he should be more forthcoming on the topic than he had been.

The Senator and I were sitting in the lobby of Hotel Roanoke sharing the corner of a table. Only my tape recorder and a microphone separated us. As a result we were almost nose to nose. It represented my best opportunity to study a parrying politician up close and personal. Watching politicians "think fast" is something that has always amused me but I never got close enough to actually watch their pupils dilate in those first few seconds of "pre-fabrication."

I asked Sen. Robb what he thought Bush should do in response to all the accusations. Then I zeroed in on his eyes to watch his brain work for a bit. Predicatably, they shifted, but only slightly before he bought time by saying "Make no mistake..." I swore a silent oath that I would try not to.

This phrase, of course, allowed him a few more nanoseconds to formulate his response which essentially consisted of the Senator telling me that it wasn't his job to advise the Governor on campaign matters.

Ever since that experience I have been fascinated by the little catch phrases politicians use to either buy time or couch their remarks. These same phrases are often adopted by the body politic for several months or years at a time before being rejected in favor of new ones. Not that these catch phrases are always used for misdirection. Sometimes I just think they believe it makes them sound more astute.

Of course, as with most popular culture phenomena, sooner or later the phrase hits critical mass and when too many of them use it, it loses its effectiveness in that regard.

Back in the days of Lyndon Johnson, everyone started their speeches with "My fellow Americans." Of course that phrase nearly failed to be recoginized for what it was due to Lyndon's heavy Austin accent. It came out "Muffalo Murrykins" but we ultimately figured out that he meant us.

Not far behind was that dazzling example of misdirection known as "let me make that perfectly clear." Of course they never did. I remember dreading to hear it in press conferences because I knew what a visitation of nonsense was likely to follow.

Later this morphed into the aforementioned "Make no mistake." It was downright heartwarming to hear all of our elected officials warn us away from the unenlightened paths we would likely take in the absence of their fatherly counsel.

The most recent popular assault on our perception is "The fact of the matter is..." This is one of my favorites because of its unadulterated pomposity. When used as an opening in debate it allows you to fire a shot at the opposition well before that opposition knows what topic is up for discussion. If used as a retort it not only calls the other guy a liar but establishes the enlightened nature of whatever follows. It presumes to draw the conclusion for the listener that what he has not yet heard is intrinsically true before the first lying syllable has escaped the ruby lips of the speaker.

Hmmm. Muffalo Murrykins. I've been thinking about abandoning this white bread moniker of mine I was born with in favor of a snappy pseudonym. What do you think?