ah ha!
Prevarication is when someone tells a lie, especially in a sneaky way. ... While the noun prevarication is mostly just a fancy way to say "lie," it can also mean skirting around the truth, being vague about the truth, or even delaying giving someone an answer, especially to avoid telling them the whole truth.
prevarication - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/prevarication
How'd it work out last time we had an engineer for president?
At face value, not so well.
He gave us high inflation as I started in my first job and home prices were flying.
I started working in 1976 and was not able to buy a house until 1979 and by that time, home prices in Houston went up a lot.
I know who, but, engineers should not be a politician, IMHO.
my answer skirted the question, but, it is to illustrate the point precisely.
Is that a form of prevarication?
yes.
The straight answer was - terrible! He gave us high inflation and high interest rates.
he was the worst president in american history...
until about a decade ago.