Who am I to say? I’m just a blogger. But in our great democracy, I can add my two cents too. So here goes:

(1) Take federalism seriously. If the Democrats don’t engineer passage of health reform bill this week, press for steps that would improve the workings of government at all levels, the most important of which would be to federalize Medicaid. A broader federalism agenda would include getting rid of the state and local tax exemption, a move that would strongly encourage states to reform their fiscal policies. But it wouldn’t be popular in a high-tax state like Massachusetts.

(2) Prove that you’re a centrist. There will be heavy pressure on Brown to move to the right. Yet Brown has a reelection to win in 2012, and this race was very unique. The next time, Massachusetts Democrats will send a far more formidable candidate after him. Brown has to remember the suburban moderates who won him his seat. Conservatives won’t always like the direction this takes him in — I imagine it will make me pretty uncomfortable from time to time — but one of the central jobs of a legislator is to faithfully represent the interests of your constituents, consistent with good judgment and a recognition that the national interest should ultimately trump parochial concerns. Voters seemed to like Brown’s idiosyncratic mix of positions. Stay New England-y. Have lunch with Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. Campaign with Kelly Ayotte. Talk to John Sununu. Make it work.

(3) Keep using new media effectively. After a race like this, all of those Tweets and blog posts and YouTube videos will of course fall off. But Brown has built up a formidable new media infrastructure and he shouldn’t let it lie fallow. He should help his supporters stay engaged. As for how, I have no clue, but I’ll bet Republican strategist Patrick Ruffini does.

One question for Brown is whether he wants to focus on building his national profile — campaigning with Marco Rubio and other star conservative candidates — or building a base in Massachusetts. Very frankly, I think that Brown has demonstrated a real gift for national politics: his biography is compelling, he is an effective speaker, he had the discipline to take the high-road in the campaign. There were no macaca moments this time, and I have to assume that there were many, many strategists and activists very eager to manufacture one. Under this level of scrutiny, Brown thrived. And this after being a purely local politician for years. That’s not normal. It is an Obama level of talent and discipline and work ethic. We know how that turned out.

I’m not saying that Scott Brown should run for president tomorrow. Just imagine the mildly perturbed look on Mitt Romney’s face! Rather, I’m saying that Brown has an opportunity to do something truly extraordinary. He can help shape the Tea Party movement as it grows and hits the mainstream, by giving it a narrative and a policy substance that it’s still yearning for. To me, the right narrative and policy platform is all about federalism and a general deconcentration of power.

That’s one reason, incidentally, why I’m disappointed in Brown’s stance on the idea of a too-big-to-fail bank tax. But more on that tomorrow.

Also: How the heck did this happen?