Florida rep. hangs up on Obama twice, 'flabbergasted' calls weren't prank

MIAMI -- First she hung up on president-elect Barack Obama -- twice. Now Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is fielding calls from angry constituents who think she did it on purpose.

The Miami congresswoman said she and the Democrat had a good laugh Wednesday after she apologized for assuming his calls were a prank.

"I was just flabbergasted," Ros-Lehtinen said Thursday.

She said Obama called to congratulate her on her re-election, saying he was looking forward to working with her as the ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs committee.

But she assumed it was a radio station prank. Typically, when high-ranking officials call, an aide calls in advance to verify.

"I said, 'Boy, you're a much better impersonator than that guy on 'Saturday Night Live,'" she said.

Obama tried convincing her that he was the president-elect, but Ros-Lehtinen said she "wished him the best of luck and told him I was going to hang up on him."

A few minutes later Obama's chief of staff, called the congresswoman with Obama on the line to tell her it wasn't a joke. She didn't buy it. A colleague persuaded Ros-Lehtinen that Obama really did want to talk to her.

When Obama finally called back, he told her "anytime my ego gets too pumped up, I think Michelle will remind me that you hung up not once but twice on me," Ros-Lehtinen said.

Ros-Lehtinen said she's since explained to a few angry constituents who have called that it was a mistake.