It all started with Councilman Tavi Cilenti and Town of Rochester Supervisor Carl Chipman. For years they pestered Councilwoman Manuela Michailescu with one request: “Please, pretty please accept to be in a picture with us.” Not being able to find more excuses, one Earth Day – not long ago – Manuela accepted, and that’s when the above photo was taken.

The next thing you know, more and more people were intent on being in the same shot with Manuela. After much insisting, Orest Fedash and David O’Halloran – well-known community pillars – managed to corner Manuela for a few seconds at a New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce event, and the result is the picture above.

The number of requests for photo opportunities became unreal, and – for obvious reasons – Manuela obliged, daring to hope that things would calm down.

Instead, the situation became scarier and scarier…

As requests from beyond Ulster County became the norm, the first person to have her wish granted was Annie Rabbit – a member of the New York State Assembly.

George Elmer Pataki – the 53rd Governor of New York could not be refused.

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer begged and begged to no avail, but when he started to cry Manuela couldn’t reject him anymore.

U.S. Congressman Chris Gibson got his picture with Manuela only after Sean Eldridge threatened to close her Facebook account.

By now, the situation got out of hand. Not only Manuela was terrorized by thousands of requests to pose with strangers, but members of her family became also targets.
Jeanine Pirro – the District Attorney of Westchester County and the Republican nominee for New York State Attorney General – didn’t take no for an answer. I have no idea who told her that I am Manuela’s husband…

Believe it or not, but William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton – the 42nd President of the United States – made his support of Hillary’s bid for White House contingent to being in a photo with our niece Maria Elena. Hillary closed the deal, but not before enlisting the help of an untold number of chaperons.

Enough is enough! Stressed by fending off the avalanche of requests, Manuela Michailescu no longer accepts to be photographed. Her decision explains the apparition on the web of images like the one above, obviously photoshoped. Barack Hussein Obama II – the current President of the United States, has never borrowed Governor Pataki’s duds!

– Jon Dogar-Marinesco