Lorraine Kelly Clinton Smear WRONG

Some of those who appear on our TV screens regularly portray an image of trust, understanding, reliability even, and no-one fits this characterisation better than Lorraine Kelly, whose reign on daytime TV has lasted more than 30 years (she first joined ITV breakfast show broadcaster TV-am in 1984). Lorraine is the homely and appealing face of such programmes. But today she has made a serious mistake.

Lorraine Kelly ((c) Mirror)

Ms Kelly also writes for the Super Soaraway Currant Bun, and in this role she has allowed her name to be applied to the by-line of a rabid and thoroughly unpleasant piece of political propaganda creatively titled “CAN OF WORMS … Lying about her health has backfired on Hillary Clinton and exposed her dismal judgement … Theresa May has diabetes but manages her condition sensibly with regular exercise and a healthy diet”.

This may surprise all those who were unaware Hill had lied about her health, probably because Hill has not lied about her health. Secretary Clinton became indisposed at last weekend’s 9/11 memorial event; it was later revealed that she had been diagnosed some days before with what is called “walking pneumonia”. There being a gap between being indisposed and a press release is a gap. It is not lying.

Nor is Hill’s judgment “dismal” or otherwise because she got ill, or decided to carry on campaigning and chance going to the 9/11 event rather than resting up - had she been absent, the 24-hour rolling news Speculatron would have gone into hyperdrive, including, one has to point out, the Murdoch press, for which even a moderate Democratic Party Presidential candidate is something to incessantly slag off. Cos it’s written.

Ms Kelly’s column does not distinguish its writer: “HILLARY CLINTON’S recent shocking collapse has put the health of all our politicians in the spotlight … She bounced back this week and has taken great pains to claim that she’s as fit as a flea … But there are still question marks hanging over her possible fragility”. Yeah, right.

And then she sells the pass: “Being the leader of the free world is brutal. You have unimaginable levels of stress as well as sleepless nights and interrupted meals … And when travelling abroad there is even more fatigue, as well as coping with jet lag … You need to be sharp, in control and firing on all cylinders 24/7 … Making the wrong decision can cause catastrophes”. And what paper is this article featuring in?

Ah yes, the Murdoch Sun. The same Murdoch Sun that cheered the re-election of Ronald Reagan to the rafters, the same Ronald Reagan who was already having problems with his memory soon after his first inauguration in 1981. The same Murdoch Sun that cheered for Dubya Bush, whose rigid pose on hearing the 9/11 news is the stuff of legend.

The Sun is a beacon of nothing more than rank hypocrisy. And Lorraine Kelly needs to think long and hard before allowing her previously trusted name to be linked to this kind of attack dog drivel - unless she wants her reputation to follow the paper’s.

And the direction of travel for the Sun’s reputation, right now, is headed straight down the toilet. Don’t buy the Sun. Best not write for it, either.