Lembit and Big Brother. True or false, why it matters

A morning of claims and denials about whether Lembit is to appear on Celebrity Big Brother have come and gone. Now it looks like he was offered the spot, but turned it down. A skim through the online BB gossip forums sugegsts it has been common in the past for names to seem to be "leaked" to drum up interest in the show for publicity in the preceding months. This time round Lembit seems to be joined in the specualtion stakes by Whitney Houston and ... the Cheeky Girls.
So does the story matter now we hear it is not true? I would say a resounding yes.
The fact that I saw the story and didn't even question the truth speaks for itself. it is just something you would expect Lembit to do! And there, for me, lies the problem.
Lembit's supporters will say that Lembit's high profile will in turn raise the party's profile in the media and help our cause. But will it? Firstly, I doubt your average viewer of BB, or similar shows such as I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, which he did appear in, will register that he is party President, a pretty distant job to your average BB viewer. What they may know is that he is a Lib Dem MP, but will that encourage them to vote for their local Lib Dem candidate? I doubt it. I very much doubt that I will knock on a single door in Old Bexley & Sidcup and get the response "I will vote for you because of Lembit appearing on insert name of show"
Conversely those of us who don't support him for President would say that he should be busy defending his seat and working in the House of Commons.
But also, some of us think this publicity will do us damage. What it will do among those who are aware who the Lib Dem President, including party members, is say we are not in a position to be taken seriously. And Lembit has said that by implication himself, in the context of George Galloway appearing on CBB he said:

"We need to lighten up a little bit. George Galloway won't be the next leader of the Labour Party."

Of course, one problem with Gorgeous George going in is it damaged him badly. It embarassed him for not doing his work as an MP, and it caused untold splits in Respect. Excuse the pun, but he lost respect among many party supporters, especially muslims.
But returning to my earlier line, the one thing that really makes me worried, is that I didn't for one second think the story may not be true. And that lack of doubt in my mind is one reason why I can't support him. Lembit can only hope that Bell Pottinger can turn round that perception.