DON'T HANG UP (CHAPTER 1). George Bush is not the first leader of the free world to accept a crank call from a hoaxer. As President, Ronald Reagan often shot the breeze with whoever happened to dial his number. Once a man identifying himself as Bill Smith called the White House and asked to speak with the President. Mistaking the caller for Attorney General William French Smith, White House operators patched him through to Camp David. For the next 30 minutes, Reagan listened to Bill Smith from Pennsylvania rattle on about his mortgage payments and his family problems.