This Is What Happens When A Politician Really Doesn't Want To Answer A Reporter's Question

What's a politician to do when he or she takes a tough question from a reporter? Well, in general, they do this thing called "dodging the question," dispensing a publicist-massaged talking point, or changing the subject, or spinning like a dervish, or just lying. (I suppose in some instances, there are those who answer questions as forthrightly as possible, too. It's a theory, anyway.)

But then there are those special moments when wits and words fail the poor fool, and the politician -- suddenly gripped by animal panic -- attempts a clunkier contrivance. Michael Oren, the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, offered up a classic of the genre when he responded to a tough question from MSNBC 's Andrea Mitchell by suddenly experiencing the inability to hear the question and responding, "Abba-babba ndrea, I cannot hear you, Im sorry," and then doing some more-convincing stammering to filibuster what remained of the segment.

But as eyebrow-raising as it was, it was actually a defter bit of maneuvering than many politicians, stuck in the middle of a fatal brain error, are able to manage. In the video above, you'll see several examples of Not-So-Great Escapes, ranging from "The Blank Stare" to the "Run For Your Life" to the "Hey, I'll Be Right Back I Promise" to the "I'm Going To Stand Here Vibrating My Head In The Hopes That I Might Have A Convenient Stroke."

[Video created and edited by Natasha Bach]

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter ? Because why not?]