News To Know: No, The Joke's On You

One of the funnier pieces of political news in the last month was buried yesterday amid the coverage of the automakers pleading with Congress for a bailout. Florida Representative Illeana Ros-Lehtinen received a call of congratulations from a man claiming to be President-elect Barack Obama. Believing the call to be an elaborate prank and not wanting to be the next Sarah Palinesque prank call victim, she hung up. Just minutess later the Representative got another phone call, this time from a man who identified himself as Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff and a political star in his own right. Despite knowing Emanuel from his time in the House, Ros-Lehtinen was not convinced and hung up again.
Prank averted, except for one detail. It was Obama calling. Not until the Representative received a call from fellow Florida Rep. Howard Berman confirming the truth was she convinced. Realizing she had just hung up on the President-elect, Ros-Lehtinen told Rep. Berman to inform Obama that he could now call her. For his part, Obama found the whole situation both understandable and comical.