Congresswoman Twice Hangs Up On Obama
When you get a phone call from someone claiming to be a big-named politician, it can pay to be skeptical – just ask Sarah Palin. But as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has ably demonstrated, you don't want to be too incredulous, or you might just end up hanging up on the president-elect. Twice.
According to the Republican congresswoman's office, upon receiving a phone call from someone purporting to be Barack Obama, Ros-Lehtinen said this: "I'm sorry but I think this is a joke from one of the South Florida radio stations known for these pranks." She then hung up.
The call wasn't a joke, however, and Obama soon tried to reach Ros-Lehtinen again, this time through his incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.
"Ileana, I cannot believe you hung up on the President-Elect," Emanuel said. Ros-Lehtinen, still under the impression that the call was not legitimate, promptly hung up again.
It was only after Chairman Howard Berman of the Foreign Affairs Committee called the congresswoman to insist that it was Obama trying to reach her – the still skeptical Ros-Lehtinen made Berman recount a story only the two of them knew to confirm that it really was Berman on the phone – that she accepted that Obama had called. The president-elect tried one more time a short time later, and the two finally had a conversation.
How do we know all this? Because Ros-Lehtinen – clearly not embarrassed by the incident – put out a press release detailing what took place. Which proves she has a sense of humor, if not a copy editor – in the release, both the names "Barack" and "Emanuel" were spelled wrong.
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The call wasn't a joke, however, and Obama soon tried to reach Ros-Lehtinen again, this time through his incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.
"Ileana, I cannot believe you hung up on the President-Elect," Emanuel said. Ros-Lehtinen, still under the impression that the call was not legitimate, promptly hung up again.
It was only after Chairman Howard Berman of the Foreign Affairs Committee called the congresswoman to insist that it was Obama trying to reach her – the still skeptical Ros-Lehtinen made Berman recount a story only the two of them knew to confirm that it really was Berman on the phone – that she accepted that Obama had called. The president-elect tried one more time a short time later, and the two finally had a conversation.
How do we know all this? Because Ros-Lehtinen – clearly not embarrassed by the incident – put out a press release detailing what took place. Which proves she has a sense of humor, if not a copy editor – in the release, both the names "Barack" and "Emanuel" were spelled wrong.
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Republicans sure are paranoid. I guess losing in a landslide makes people self-conscious. They are out of touch with "real Americans" --- and reality.
Posted by Hwy71So at 10:20 AM : Dec 05, 2008
Hate to do this to a Repug - BUT, WHEN WAS THIS ??? Was it when Repugs were in charge of all arms of government and Dumbya did not Veto anything ?? Just imagine if McCain had won - see how scared you''d really be right now ?
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Posted by HK4U2
Guess what? Back to the Clintons IS CHANGE. Any change from Cowboy George is GOOD change.
No, it is not. The majority of CEO''s and other highly placed people take their own calls nowadays. An effective exec knows how to get rid of an unwanted caller immediately. Obviously, their outside public direct lines are not published. But, you go into any large company and look at an internal call list and the majority of the time the office extensions of everyone, including the top chief of staffs, are on the list.
What IS also standard is that it''s very rare to catch a CEO or President IN THEIR OFFICE AT THEIR DESK since their effectiveness depends on them being OUT of the office and dealing with other people.
When the Republicans talk about cutting through the red tape, this is EXACTLY what this means. I''m glad Obama makes his own calls - that''s what I''m paying my taxes for him to do. If Ros-Lehtinen is too incompetent to discern a prank caller from the real thing after a few minutes, she shouldn''t be holding office.
Posted by Speakinup21
On the YOU, not US, get over it.