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One of the unheralded "accomplishments" of Maryland's recently departed Ehrlich administration was its successful ban — literally, excommunication — of The (Baltimore) Sun's then-Annapolis bureau chief, David Nitkin.

President Obama, this country's generally admired Great Communicator, has just blundered into that territory only to be forced back by a belatedly aroused media, standing together across the board.

Ehrlich, by contrast, held his ground. Nitkin remained under ban by Ehrlich and company until the Republican governor lost his re-election bid to Democrat Martin O'Malley. Longtime The Sun columnist Michael Olesker was also threatened by Ehrlich, but got canned by The Sun because of an unrelated "plagiarism" charge.

Local and national media in Maryland never got properly aroused by Ehrlich's tyrannical tactic; indeed, The Washington Post — also an Ehrlich target — actually endorsed the Republican for re-election, along with The Gazette and various other opinion-makers who professed amusement over the minor "spat."

The Washington Post's Charles Krauthammer summarized the failed "Fox Wars" in a recent column: "At first, there was little reaction from other media. Then on Thursday, the administration tried to make them complicit in an actual boycott of Fox. The Treasury Department made available Ken Feinberg, the executive pay czar, for interviews with the White House ‘pool' news organizations — except Fox. The other networks admirably refused, saying they would not interview Feinberg unless Fox was permitted as well. The administration backed down."

Now, in Maryland, ex.-Gov. Ehrlich is openly mapping a possible campaign for another go at the governorship next time around. How will the media behave if the Ehrlichs run again? I'm using the plural here because First Lady Kendel Ehrlich sought further punishment, beyond the ban, for the liberal press, especially The Washington Post and The Sun. Please stand by for breaking news.

Stan Lichtenstein, Bethesda