Hillary Clinton dodged (or didn’t dodge) sniper fire in Bosnia. Barack Obama’s preacher hates America. John McCain spoke about Charlton Heston’s contributions to the United States.

But who cares?

Since the election season started so long ago, many news organizations seem to be running out of material. Are people bored of criticizing Hillary’s ankles? Has the allure of the “Yes, we can” campaign faded? Do we want to waste more time talking about how McCain’s age may affect his presidency?

It seems the answer is no.

With so much time left before the actual election, it makes me wonder how we’re going to survive until November. OK, the Pennsylvania primary April 22 will provide some much-needed excitement. Indiana and North Carolina vote May 6. After that, there are only seven states left, with a total of 219 delegates up for grabs. That sounds like a lot, right? But keep in mind these are 219 delegates spread across three months. When it comes down to it, it’s going to feel like watching the grass grow.

So let’s look at election coverage in recent weeks. We have the outcry about Obama’s pastor. And I get it, he’s his spiritual leader, he performed Obama’s marriage, Obama brings his kids there, etc.

But do I really care what Obama’s pastor said in a sermon? Does that affect his views on health care and the Iraq war? Did Obama himself say, “Yes, I agree with him 100 percent?” No. As it turns out, what Obama’s pastor said doesn’t affect me in the slightest. And it probably never will.

Hillary claims she was “under sniper fire” during her 1996 visit to Bosnia as First Lady.

“I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia,” she said in a speech at George Washington University March 17. “There was a saying around the White House that if a place was too small, too poor or too dangerous, the president couldn’t go, so send the first lady.”

Clinton then told the crowd of the less-than-Presidential reception she received:

“I remember landing under sniper fire,” she said. “There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”

But this isn’t exactly true. Oops. Sorry, Hillary just “misspoke,” her spokesperson Howard Wolfson said. In reality, she was greeted by a happy, friendly crowd and even stopped to embrace a young child.

Now, yes, Hillary did imagine some pretty big events that, if true, could have strengthened her campaign. At least they could have given her some credibility over Obama, who, to the best of my knowledge, has not dodged sniper bullets in Bosnia either. But in the big scheme of things, is this really important? Politicians lie all the time (Al Gore invented the Internet?); we’re used to it.

And as awful as it sounds, this isn’t even the worst lie we’ve heard in this election.

In a television ad aired during the Florida primary, former Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani claimed he was the first to reform welfare, when in fact Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson is referred to as the “father of welfare reform” for his welfare-to-work program.

In a Washington Post interview last November, Obama accused former Democratic candidate John Edwards of recently “converting to populism,” when in fact Edwards has consistently raised issues of economic inequality through his entire political career.

At a Jan. 25 campaign rally in Pensacola, Fla., former Republican candidate Mitt Romney said he was the only GOP candidate with private sector experience, when in fact nearly all the candidates had some sort of private sector experience.

Is the lack of excitement at the moment motivating the candidates to try to create some? Are they afraid we’re getting bored of their rhetoric and are dismissing their rehearsed speeches? Will this change as we get closer to the election?

This lack of news has put the media in a standstill, forcing us to seek out the skeletons the candidates are hiding in their closets. In some cases, the politicians are sticking their foot further into their own mouths (read: Bosnian terrorists), creating chaos in their own lives and giving the news organizations and the public a little ammunition to fire back at them.

But as we look forward to the future, we can see a ray of light: the Democratic National Convention in Denver. With Obama leading only slightly, it is sure to be a good time, complete with super delegate drama and Nancy Pelosi-style skirt suits.

Thank God baseball season started so we finally have something real to talk about.

– Chelsea Reil can be reached at [email protected].