It was fortunate timing for Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky that a rescue elevator was at the ready to whisk him away from a couple of TV reporters who chased him down a corridor of a Senate office building to ask him about the hold he's placed on some federal spending that has resulted in the shut down of numerous stimulus-funded road projects and stopped unemployment benefits for many.

ABC News' Jonathan Karl got to Bunning as the senator entered the elevator. And just as Karl was about to follow the senator onto the elevator, Bunning took a step that was the equivalent of activating the force-field on a Star Trek Starship. He uttered the words "Excuse me! This is a senator-only elevator."

Those words caused Karl to back away. But Karl was clever enough to stick his foot, or some other part of his body, in front of the elevator door to keep it from closing. He only removed after a ever more annoyed Bunning shot another "Excuse me!" at him.

The ABC News blog has more details, including describing the hand gesture Bunning made before the camera arrived.

Karl may not have gotten his questions answered but he got video of the confrontation so it wasn't a totally wasted effort.