It took a bit of coaxing, but Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s taking full advantage of the 21st century.

The Florida Republican told Politico that she was really reluctant to get into the new-age techie stuff, but she realized she was behind in the times, particularly when her kids started calling her congressional Web site "lame." But now, her kids can be proud of their mother’s virtual digs! Last month, Ros-Lehtinen launched her own YouTube channel, "to better reach out to you and share the things I am working on both in Washington and in South Florida and the Keys," and she Twitters, and keeps a congressional blog.

"My staff dragged me into the new century whether I wanted them to or not," she told Politico. "I’m not technologically savvy in the least … [now] we’re YouTubing and we’re Twittering and doing all the new technology one needs to do."

Ros-Lehtinen years ago was forced to flee Cuba with her family. She became the first Hispanic woman and first Cuban-American elected to Congress. She previously was the first woman elected to the Florida State House of Representatives. She’s married and has two children and two step-children. She has worked to clean up environmental hazards in her state, opposes off-shore drilling near Florida, supports more help for homeowners in this economic crisis, and more cargo security in the nation’s ports.

And yes, this is the same Ros-Lehtinen who hung up on President Obama — twice! — thinking it was a hoax. At least she and the president had a sense of humor about it!

Here’s video of Ros-Lehtinen’s latest YouTube video, which stresses her efforts to save American jobs: