It wasn’t long ago that pundits were proclaiming Chelsea Clinton the “First Ugly Duckling.”

Now, the debris of her first relationship (which apparently crashed more spectacularly than the Hindenburg) has been spread across the pages of the New York Post.

And for what reason?

Certainly not for good journalism. The Post’s salacious coverage of Chelsea and her ex-boyfriend, a member of the Stanford swim team, was unnecessary prying.

Do we really need to peruse the love life of someone — though she might have a very public existence — who has no role whatsoever in government?

Is it essential that we know why this poor guy may have dumped Chelsea?

If we never hear about the first “dinner with the folks,” will we really be missing out?

The president’s inability to keep his sex drive corralled has been well publicized, but his daughter’s romantic ups and downs belong, if anywhere, in the National Enquirer.

Newspapers everywhere have been infected by the “let’s make our news personal” virus.

Witness The Des Moines Register’s “Clinging to Life” feature, the sappy serial that occupied valuable space on the front page for eight days in a row last summer.

Or recall the nationwide lovefest that surrounded John Glenn’s re-entry into space this fall.

Time Magazine sets a better example: Its tirelessly researched expos‚ of corporate welfare exemplified the magazine’s commitment to publishing what’s really important.

Granted, more readers (and emotion) are drawn to true love, tragic death and space heroes, but since when do the American people, and not professional journalists, decide what is news?

To bring this closer to home, suppose President Martin Jischke’s daughter were in the throes of a relationship-gone-bad. Coverage in the Daily might attract gossip-hungry students, but it would never be newsworthy.

Instead, we’ll tell you about yesterday’s car accident, the latest professor to win an award, or the progress of the Howe Hall construction.

Now if two Iowa State student leaders allowed their relationship to affect policymaking, or if certain members of the administration were bending the truth to hide affairs with their secretaries, that would be news.