WASHINGTON - For Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the voice on her cell phone sounded eerily familiar.
“He sounded just like Obama,” she said on Thursday, referring to President-elect Barack Obama.
Sensing she was the victim of a spoof by a South Florida radio station, she promptly disconnected the call.
Trouble was, it was Obama.
A chagrined Ros-Lehtinen told the Fox News Channel that she also hung up on Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, when he called her back to explain it really was the next president on the line.
Both Emanuel and Obama tried to convince her the call was for real.
“Guys, it’s a great prank, really,” she said she told them.
It took a subsequent call from California Democratic Rep. Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to finally convince Ros-Lehtinen to talk to Obama.
To convince her that it really was Berman, she said she told him, “Give me the private joke that we share.”
Once Berman cleared that hurdle, Ros-Lehtinen was ready to talk to Obama. They discussed Cuba and Israel, she said.
REUTERS/Jason Reed (Obama speaks on with supporter on the phone)
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Why is Obama acting like a president when he is not yet one. so he would call 2 staff members and tell them to call a third one and convince her to accept his call, what a freak! and that’s because he wants to discuss Cuba and Israel, with a Florida congresswoman, I would have hung up too, even if I knew for sure who he is!
- Posted by MonicaIt was all a big joke. Everyone was in it…
- Posted by Andy CooOh please, give Llena a break, at least she’s didn’t fall for a telephone scam the way Sarah Palin did. Hmmm, a woman using her brains for a change, how novel.
- Posted by MarlaI feel betrayed and used by Senator Chambliss of Georgia. For three (3) months I, almost daily, got a phone message or a piece of mail, NOW he has what he (and I) wanted and he has decided to ignore me completely. No more phone calls, no more little reminders of our mutually shared goals, nothing. I feel like a groom left standing at the alter. Well all I can say is Hooray, “I’m glad it’s over”, now do what is necessary to balance the power in the senate, because if you don’t after putting me through that ordeal, I will drive down to Washington and lose my shoe where the sun don’t shine.
- Posted by BOB ROWLANDWell that’s that as far as: “Congress wanting your voice to be heard.”
- Posted by ddavidIs this really news? It was a mistake. I’m sick of hearing about this story.
- Posted by LaurenTom, I guess Obama likes to talk to not smart people. He must have called you recently too.
- Posted by AMGosh it’s so annoying listening to some party-line homers on here attack each other for which party they side with.
Soon enough (I hope) Americans will realize both parties are nothing more than button-pushers for big corporations who bribe them. I mean give them campaign contributions.
- Posted by MichaelAnyone who calls this congresswoman ’smart’ obviously is not!
- Posted by TomAndreus, I like your style ; )
- Posted by JordanAre we to believe that there is no secure, verifiable way for one member of government to call another member of government to discuss issues of national importance? Can anyone, anywhere call up, for example, Texas Governor Rick Perry and pretend to be, say, California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger, and the only way for him to tell if the call is legit is to compare the voice to an old VHS of Kindergarten Cop?
- Posted by Ol YelloWhat was he calling her for anyway?
- Posted by KeithLOL!!!
- Posted by TEAMOBAMALynne,
- Posted by KarlIt was a prank by a canadian radio station pretending to be Nicholas Sarkozy (French President), not Putin.
The ultimate pessimist?
- Posted by ohohbobOr.
Very, very smart.
Odd, you’d think there would be caller ID for such a position, as well as screeners before even getting to her number.
- Posted by G BThe “private joke” that they shared was that she did, in fact, know that she was hanging up on Obama. Twice.
- Posted by CLSoon we will need SSL and certificate verification just to speak on the phone.
- Posted by Peter YannoneThe only real news story here is the last sentence: They discussed Cuba and Israel, she said.
- Posted by TruthseedsI don’t care what party she is a member of, the lady was just being smart. Even if it wasn’t a radio show it could easily have been someone looking to manipulate her for some other reason. I think it is high time that our politicians started thinking seriously about security. Maybe they will also have an outbreak of commonsense and cancel the useless TSA program too.
- Posted by SumDumGuy