Whether he wants to be or not, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. might become a multimedia star as he enters into discussions on two pilots for potential television shows.

Ehrlich (R) discussed the television possibilities as he undertook a tour for his new book, “Turn This Car Around.” He likened the book tour to a political campaign.

“It started yesterday and I’m tired already,” Ehrlich said of the tour, with its multiple appearances and interviews. “It’s very much like a political campaign. We had two events yesterday. Tonight is a big one, and tomorrow will be more.”

Ehrlich has been a frequent guest on cable news programs, particularly Fox News. When he travels to New York for work for his law firm, he notifies producers he’ll be in the city. Now, all of the shows on Fox News have contacted him to discuss his new book, which covers his thoughts on the direction of the country economically and culturally.

“We have a pretty good media blitz over the next two weeks,” Ehrlich said.

But if things work out, he might end up getting even more visibility.

“I’m not sure how much I can say here,” Ehrlich said. “We’re looking at certain pilots regarding TV, one involving my wife as well.”

Ehrlich had a radio show on WBAL in Baltimore with his wife Kendel Ehrlich from 2007 to 2010. The TV show would be news oriented and not an entertainment program, Ehrlich said.

“We’re not going to do a sitcom,” he said.

Ehrlich declined to say for whom the pilots were being shot.

“I’m not interested in becoming a multimedia personality rather than becoming a player on where the national dialogue is going,” Ehrlich said.

While several Republican presidential candidates used book tours to launch their campaigns, Ehrlich said he has no presidential aspirations other than working to get former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney elected president in 2012.

The book tour kicked off the same week as the trial of his longtime aide Paul Schurick, who led his 2010 rematch against Gov. Martin O’Malley (D). Schurick was charged with initiating more than 100,000 robo-calls on Election Day in 2010 in what prosecutors called an effort to discourage black voters from turning out to vote for O’Malley.

“The Schurick trial is the Schurick trial, and I can’t really comment on that and not a lot of people have been mentioning that to me,” Ehrlich said. “The trial will be done in a day or two, and the book tour will go on.”

cford@gazette.net