How did Mr. 'Gannon' Slip Through?

Jeff Gannon -- or whatever his name is -- is taking the time- honored route of scoundrels who get caught. He apparently used his few days of silence to consult some media-savvy people who filled him in on the way to successfully manage a crisis: Repent, regret, reform.

So Mr. Gannon told Howard Kurtz [Style, Feb. 19] that he repented his past sins, regretted the pain he may have caused others, has reformed his ways and, of course, expects to be forgiven. He is now the victim, martyred because of his politics and sexuality.

Fine. Let's forgive Mr. Gannon and consign him to history's dustbin, where he belongs. Then we can turn our attention to the real questions:

• How does a guy with no journalistic background who works for Republican front groups and whose pic- tures have appeared on a gay-escort Web site get credentials to cover the White House, journalism's plum assignment?

• How, for two years, does the FBI, the Secret Service or whatever crack outfit the White House employs to screen people who work there miss what a handful of bloggers found in a few days on the Internet?

Maybe, if the lap dogs that are the members of the White House press corps did their jobs, the bloggers wouldn't have to.

FRANK TURSI

Swansboro, N.C.