When Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a senior Republican congresswoman, received a call from a man who sounded suspiciously like Barack Obama yesterday, she was a little surprised.

So much so, in fact, that she assumed it was a prank call – and hung up on the next leader of the United States. “I’m sorry,” she told the President-elect. “But I think this is a joke.”

Mr Obama shared the story with his Chief of Staff, and a little while later Rahm Emanuel picked up the telephone to give her a second chance. “Ileana, I cannot believe that you hung up on the President-elect,” he said. Her response? She hung up again.

"I thought it was one of the radio stations in South Florida playing an incredible, elaborate, terrific prank on me," said Ms Ros- Lehtinen. "They got Fidel Castro to go along. They've gotten Hugo Chavez and others to fall for their tricks. I said, 'Oh, no, I won't be punked.'"

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

The conversation lasted about a minute when she cut him off, telling him she would not fall for the joke - although he was a better impersonator than the actor on Saturday Night Live.

The confused member of the House of Representatives had no idea what she had done until she received a third call – this time from Howard Berman, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, a Republican colleague who had spoken to the Obama team.

When she realised she had put the phone down on the 44th American President, twice, she ordered her office to release a statement explaining the misunderstanding.

Sadly for the beleaguered congresswoman, her press release contained a number of spelling mistakes. The most notable among them: mis-spelling Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel (Barak Obama and Rahm Emmanuel).

Eventually, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen did speak to Mr Obama and she said it was a fruitful conversation.

"He laughed a lot, saying in Chicago they do it all the time," she said. "He said, 'I don't blame you for being sceptical.'"

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