If you attended a good school, your teacher would have spent some time teaching you the art of asking a good question. To begin with, she would at various points have said “there is no such thing as a stupid question”. (There is, actually, but that’s a story for another day.) The idea is, of course, to encourage young people to be fearless in asking questions and that is a good thing.

A seasoned teacher will also teach you not to ask and answer your own question. Like: “Did you steal, as the president, money from the taxpayer?” To which you gleefully answer: “I did not steal money from the taxpayer.” The question was implied, of course, but the skill here is called deflection. By responding to a question nobody asked, you achieve two things — you distract the questioner from asking the pertinent question and you hope to persuade your loyal followers that you are not a thief...