Bogarting the limelight, Levi Johnston will pose in Playgirl

How low...can you go?

Levi Johnston, the onetime beau and fiance of Alaska's first daughter, Bristol Palin, now has something other than the White House in his sights: Playgirl.

Johnston gained notoriety after the 2008 presidential election for dishing on his would-be mother in law, Gov. Sarah Palin, then the Republican vice presidential nominee. The high school dropout, who'd taken a apprentice electrician job before pivoting effortlessly onto the national stage, was the rural Alaska "Backstreet Boy" of the Republican National Convention.

And taking a turn like many a teen idol before him, Johnston now has his eyes on sexualizing his image.

"Team Levi is in the process of preparing for his Playgirl appearance," his lawyer Rex Butler told Usmagazine.com. "He is in the gym six days a week for the next three weeks."

Johnston's handlers say they don't know which issues the photos will appear in, but they'll probably be out before the end of the year.

Gossip site TMZ.com has claimed that the 19-year-old wasn't sure whether to show the "front or the back" in his appearance.

Johnston had a son, Tripp, with Sarah Palin's daughter. Capitalizing on his message of loose sexuality, he now appears in a new TV ad for pistachios, in which a pitchman declares, "Now Levi Johnston does it with protection." Johnston is flanked by his bodyguard and publicist, Tank Jones.