Mayor Pete’s Non-News Story [OPINION]

So, Mayor Pete says he would most likely not be the first gay president if elected to the office next fall. OK, who was the first? Pete says he doesn't know.

“My gaydar even doesn’t work that well in the present, let alone retroactively. But one can only assume that’s the case," he said.

This is what passes for news these days.

Mayor Pete is Pete Buttigieg, the openly gay Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He is one of two dozen Democrats seeking their party's nomination to challenge Donald Trump next year.

In an interview with Axios on HBO, Buttigieg said, "statistically, it’s almost certain" we have already had a gay president.

“I would imagine we’ve probably had excellent presidents who were gay — we just didn’t know which ones," he offered.

But when pushed, Pete wasn't prepared to speculate.

"My gaydar is not great, to begin with, and definitely doesn’t work over long stretches of time,” he said. “I think we’ll just have to let the historians figure that out.”

This little chestnut was reported out by Axios and picked up by Fox News, The New York Post and a host of other so-called reputable news organizations.

The fact that Mayor Pete is gay is totally cool with me. It's none of my business. I don't want to know. I have no need to. As long as he balances the books and abides by the Constitution, that's all that should matter to any of us. Besides, we already knew that, so it is not news.

The fact that Mayor Pete thinks there may have been one or more gay presidents is not news either since he has no idea who they might have been.

Probably the only thing in this "story" that is new information is that Mayor Pete's "gaydar is not great." I didn't even know Buttigieg had gaydar. But is it news? Could you just imagine if Donald Trump or Mike Pence professed to have gaydar?

There once was a time when journalism was an honorable profession. No wonder no one showed up for CNN's Jim Acosta's book signing in Virginia last week.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.