Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is an astute politician. He’s a lawyer who is well-versed in delivering the elusive non-answer.

But in declining to answer a question directly, he perhaps spills more beans than he realizes.

The AG came to Amarillo to talk about cyber crimes. He stopped by the Globe-News to talk about that issue, and whatever else was on our minds. So, right off the top I asked him a political question: Are you going to run for the U.S. Senate? I could ask whatever I wanted, “but that doesn’t mean I’m going to answer you,” he said with a broad smile.

Abbott’s name is near the top of Republicans who might run for the Senate seat that fellow Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison is expected to vacate as she runs for governor in 2010.

So … Abbott said he would provide what would sound like a canned answer. It went something like this: “We’re in the middle of a legislative session and I won’t make any decisions about my political future until June or July.”

Interesting. If he didn’t plan to run for the Senate, he could have said “no.” But he didn’t. He equivocated.

That means he’s running.

Welcome to the race, Mr. Attorney General.