Mr. Lazio said nothing to distance himself from the Conservative Party, even as he obliquely acknowledged that the affiliation could be used against him.

She would serve with John B. Breaux, a Democrat who is a good friend of Mr. Bush and whom the president obliquely acknowledged today.

They did, however, obliquely acknowledge that President Clinton has raised the issues of Tiananmen, Tibet and human rights and gave President Jiang's responses.

By invading Panama, Washington obliquely acknowledged the failure of its reliance on colonels to manage the region's affairs.

The underlying problem, however, acknowledged only obliquely by the participants, is simply allocation of a scarce resource - peak-time space on runways, at gates and in the air.

But David Schreff, the chief executive of Marvel, obliquely acknowledged the possibility.

Lehrer (age 62) obliquely acknowledged this milestone when he won the debate assignment.

She obliquely acknowledged that Paramount needed to broaden its talent pool.

Mrs. Reagan obliquely acknowledges the out-of-wedlock pregnancy in her memoir, "My Turn," published in 1989 by Random House.

The governor's unassailable tough-on-crime credentials give him greater political leeway to soften the drug laws, a point he acknowledged obliquely.