Scott Brown's "American Idol" strategy

This seemed fitting since, four years ago, Ayla Brown, the senator-elect’s daughter, captivated my kids during a short-lived “American Idol” run (my eldest daughter cried as hard as Ayla did when she got booted from the show). Ayla was an attractive though somewhat bland singer who belted out tunes by Celine Dion and Christina Aguilera. She had a chipper attitude and a limited vocal range. In short, good for TV.

If only she had been competing against Martha Coakley. Ayla’s dad followed the same attractive, bland but hardworking formula and rocked it all the way to the Capitol.

One thing I can tell you about American elections (both political and reality-TV): Bland, attractive and hardworking is a decent strategy. If you can avoid offending, condescending and generally being annoying, if you can come off as nice and normal and sing a tune people recognize, you’ve got a shot — regardless of your musical or party affiliation.