In the last 24 hours, the media have scrutinized Notre Dame All-American linebacker Manti Te'o's life more completely than they did President Barack Obama's in the last eight years.  And that is shameful -- on both counts. 

The crux of the Te'o story, of course, is whether Te'o conspired to fabricate his seemingly tragic relationship with imaginary girlfriend Lennay Kekua or whether he is a victim of a cruel hoax.

Much is at stake -- or so we are told.  If Te'o proves to be a willing participant in a hoax, NFL scouts will question his character and downgrade his stock in the upcoming NFL draft.  For those who care, Deadspin has some excellent reporting on this story -- better reporting, in fact, than anyone in the major media has done on that other Hawaiian fabricator of girlfriends, Barack Obama.

Although I and others in the blogosphere had made the case early on that the girlfriends Obama wrote about in his memoir Dreams from My Father were not real, the major media ran from the story.  To see how far and fast they ran, please check out my AT articles on the subject: "What Does 'Composite Girl' Tell Us About Obama" and "Did Maraniss Commit Fraud to Protect Obama."

The Deadspin reporters rightly chastise a "compliant press" for buying into "Notre Dame's mythmaking," but in the press's defense, who would think it necessary to vet a linebacker?  There is no excuse for how our media have failed to vet the president.