Spite into White House race

Hillary Clinton's enemies have long criticised her political -makeover, from the liberal firebrand First Lady to the moderate senator and White House candidate that she is today.Now, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination is the subject of a whispering campaign suggesting that she has also undergone a physical makeover - with Botox injections to enhance her appearance.

Sen Clinton's fresh-faced demeanour at last weekend's New Hampshire presidential debate has unleashed a flurry of speculation, among newspaper columnists and on the internet, that she has used artificial means to banish the wrinkles.

The debate has revealed again the importance of appearance in the race for the White House, and the extra scrutiny that falls on Sen Clinton as the first woman with a realistic chance of becoming president.

Botox, derived from a lethal poison that forms in rancid sausages, is injected into the face - at $500 (£260) a shot - to eliminate wrinkles by paralysing the surrounding muscles. In 2004, John Kerry, the Democrat presidential nominee, was accused of using the substance to remove wrinkles from his forehead.

source: www.telegraph.co.uk