21.   Bush calmly deflected the questions, seeking to turn the focus away from guns and toward his belief that students were uniting in prayer against hatred.

22.   Bush used the same argument to deflect the question again Wednesday, once in Texas and later at a campaign stop in Louisiana.

23.   Bush coyly deflected questions about a mysterious Saturday night dinner, for example.

24.   But Canadian officials were having to deflect questions about whether Canada was ceding some of its independence by bowing to American demands to preserve continued trade.

25.   But he deflects any questions about candidacy.

26.   But Ekeus deflected questions about whether he would meet with General Kamel.

27.   But Klein deflected a question to compare the case against Microsoft to another landmark antitrust case, the one that reconfigured the nationwide telephone system.

28.   But no matter how often Rivera deflected questions about whether he felt weary or was disappointed, it was obvious something was awry in Yankeeland.

29.   But Iraqi officials deflected his questions with wide-eyed innocence.

30.   But the companies deflected questions about a common software strategy at a New York news conference.