If they awarded frequent flier miles for the number of times Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has received large doses of national media attention, she could spend the last three years of her term flying around the world.

About the only national media outlet that has not done a feature is Popular Mechanics, and, the way things are going for the media celebrity, it could be next.

Given all that national media hype, it was only natural to ask an obvious question when the governor sat down at the executive residence for her annual Michigan Public TV “Evening with the Governor” broadcast (wkar.org).

Has anybody approached you about writing a book?

“Yes,” came the cryptic yet very revealing response.

And then she fills in the details.

Turns out, a “handful” of journalists who have covered her have suggested she pen a book on her life. She clearly is open to that, and, come to find out, there might be more than one book.

Hum.

“Do you want to do it?”

“At some point,” the governor said. “At some point, yeah. I feel like maybe there’s a short book to write maybe sooner and talk about different pieces of my philosophy.”

Interesting.

But the next line will cause an even greater political stir.

“Ultimately, maybe a longer-form book that comes later, like maybe when I’m done being governor,” she said.

She opens the door to another obvious question.

When she is finished being governor in 2026, that is only two years away from the next race for the White House.

Others have been at that point in their lives. They were leaving whatever gig they had and decided to run for president, but, first, they fired off a “glowing” memoir on their lives as a nifty prelude to their eventual announcement.

Barack Obama did it.

John McCain did it.

So did Mitt Romney.

Will Whitmer do the same?

The governor was reminded that everybody does that and her possible book will certainly feed that national narrative that she will run in 2028.

“Yeah,” she said. “Well, other people write books, too, and don’t run for anything.”

She tried to nip that story in the bud.

Examine the response carefully.

All it is is a statement of fact.

It is not a yes or no that she won’t do the same thing, which is precisely the way you want it. If you hope to feed the national news media beast that is more than eager to write reams about the Michigan governor as it relates to running for the White House, you never say never.

She was asked if she had a title?

“Do you have a title?” she playfully bounces the serve back.

“It’s obvious,” the interview said. “‘That Woman from Michigan.'”

Then she laughs that signature Whitmer chuckle and returns another volley.

“Would you buy a copy?”

The interviewer stumbles over the unexpected question.

Sensing a chance to score a match point, she reflects: “You expect me to send you a copy?”

Not on your life. Accepting a freebie from any public official is frowned upon in the news biz, so the reporter asserts, “I will buy your book.”

The question is, will anybody else?

And you already know the answer to that.