Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Miami's Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Out There) has had to admit that she lied when she denied that she called for the assassination of Fidel Castro:

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen admitted on Friday, through a spokesman, that she did call for the death of ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro during an interview with a British documentary-maker whom she had earlier accused of altering the video.

"Yes, it's in the documentary, she said that," said Alex Cruz, the congresswoman's spokesman.

Ros-Lethinen did not want to respond further, Cruz said, because "she's focused her energies on issues that are more important for the community.

"Neither she nor I have seen the raw footage, without editing, but if that's in the documentary, she said it," Cruz said.

Okay, so what did Ileana actually say?



(If you can't see the clip, the key passage is: "I welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate Fidel Castro, and any leader who is oppressing the people.")

Rule #1 of media relations: don't fuck with people who have you on video:

Twenty-four hours after the controversy erupted, director Dollan Cannell sent unedited tapes of his interview with Ros-Lehtinen to reporters.

"Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has made a very serious accusation against the documentary's crew," Cannell said. "Her accusation is totally false and I would like her to retract what she said and to apologize."

But, like her partner in crime up in Virginia, there's not likely to be any apology. Instead, we get another denial:

"What needs to be clear is that she doesn't want [Castro] to live one more day, just as the majority in the community wants it that way," Cruz said, "but she's not calling for his assassination."

Whoa, whoa, hold it right there for a second, Sparky.

You say, "[S]he's not calling for his assassination." She said, "I welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate Fidel Castro ..."

Am I missing something here?

You'd think that Republicans would have learned that it's bad enough to lie, but it's worse to lie about something on video. Anyway, congratulations to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen - today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you!