Former Sen. Scott Brown made his debut on Fox News last night and the interest may not be in what he said but more in what it means for his political fortunes.

Brown appeared on Sean Hannity’s show to offer comments about President Obama’s State of the Union address. (The show billed the appearance as an “exclusive,” but, really, if you’re paying someone, what are the chances he’ll appear somewhere else?) Brown was a little harsher on Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid than he was during his losing campaign against Elizabeth Warren last fall but he stuck to his mantra of “bipartisanship” and the need to “work together” to get things done. All in all, fairly bland offerings despite the network’s statement that Brown was hired for his “out of the box” thought process.

“You can do things, but you need to include everybody and that’s not happening,” Brown said in one of his more poignant observations.

Some local GOP stalwarts are scratching their heads over what Brown brings to the table as a commentator. “I wonder what political analysis he’s done in the past that is noteworthy. Has he ever said anything that has great political insight?” Republican political analyst Todd Domke told the Herald’s Margery Eagan. Ouch.

But it was the undercurrent of guessing what’s Brown’s endgame that has many people pondering if, indeed, he’s closed the door on a future in politics, at least the immediate future.

Hannity asked the one-time model why he opted out of a run for John Kerry’s seat. “Well, it’s the People’s Seat, as you remember,” Brown said in reprising the slogan that gave him his most traction in the first run in 2010. Brown then offered where his insight and experience might be best served.

“I felt I could make a difference being on this show and doing other things,” Brown said. “I plan to stay involved certainly, but, you know, I’m going to continue to work and be part of the election process back home and other elections around the country.”

What difference Brown can make being on Fox as a paid contributor is up for debate but some observers think it will make a difference for Brown both in his wallet and his electoral chances; positively on the former, not so much on the latter.

“It’s hard not to take it as an indication he’s unlikely to run for governor,” Rob Gray, a Republican political consultant, told the Globe. “A regular gig on Fox likely turns off many moderate voters in Massachusetts. Cable TV ratings tend to revolve around controversial stands and conflict, so it’s hard to imagine he won’t get sucked into some issues that wouldn’t help him in any Massachusetts run in the near future.”

Indeed, a clearly unscientific measure by Forbes magazine shows the New York Times, not Fox, is the People’s Choice for news in Massachusetts. Hannity is somewhat of a conservative bomb-thrower who has admitted to making false presentations and offering doctored footage to make Obama and Democrats look bad. And there’s little question on where the rest of the Fox opinion shows lean ideologically, though its news programs have more of a tendency to play it straight. Fox seems to be making somewhat of an effort to go a little more towards the middle, jettisoning Sarah Palin and Dick Morris and toning down Karl Rove.

Whether Brown goes all-in on his comments when appearing with Hannity or Bill O’Reilly or the morning show is irrelevant. He’ll be tied to them by guilt through association, fair and balanced or not.

                                                                –JACK SULLIVAN

BEACON HILL

Howie Carr tracks ousted Rep. David Torrisi’s quest to spend down his leftover campaign cash; after losing a Democratic primary fight, Torrisi spent heavily at Ruth’s Chris, Strega, and the Apple store. CommonWealth’s Summer 2012 issue looked at what happens to campaign accounts after their owners have moved on from public life.

WBUR analyzes who wins and who loses under Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal to eliminate about 40 tax deductions.

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll tries to dispell fears that the city’s Gateway Cities designation is a “scarlet letter,” the Salem News reports.

The Fall River City Council approved changes to its mooring plan in an effort to attract more recreational boaters. In our Summer 2011 issue, CommonWealth looked at the inconsistencies in which many communities dealt with moorings.

Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy is cleared of charges by an ex-aide of discrimination, the Item reports.

NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON

Sen. Marco Rubio’s Reclaim America PAC is selling water bottles to cash in on the national focus of the Florida Republican quenching his thirst in the middle of his response to the State of the Union address.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker stakes out a new approach on Obamacare and Medicaid, Politico reports.

ELECTIONS

Democratic Senate rivals Ed Markey and Steve Lynch agree to the “people’s pledge,” a pact aimed at limiting the role of third-party ads in their race. The two candidates also vie for the education vote, the Associated Press reports (via WBUR).

The Globe looks at Markey’s tale of two houses, a story he’d like to see go out of print.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

The New Republic’s Noam Scheiber has more on the back story to Aaron Swartz’s “open access” activism.

EDUCATION

UMass Lowell steps up to Division 1 sports play, the Eagle-Tribune reports. The Lowell Sun has this report.

Stonehill College in Easton has narrowed the finalists for president to two priests with ties to the school.

The White House’s efforts to expand early education face an uphill fight. Gail Collins portrays the effort as the second coming of Walter Mondale’s doomed universal pre-K program, and links Richard Nixon’s veto of Mondale’s plan to stagnant class mobility.

HEALTH CARE

The state released two long-awaited studies of a contaminated waste site in New Bedford that shows people who live and work near the site, including those at the high school which is on the property, have no greater incidence of cancer from PCB exposure than the rest of the state.

At least 11 percent of women between 15 and 44 have used a morning-after pill, USA Today reports.

A Plymouth family whose daughter nearly died and was left legally blind was awarded $63 million by a jury based on its claim that pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn consumers of the risks of a rare but devastating side effect of its brand of children’s ibuprofen.

TRANSPORTATION

American Airlines and US Airways announce a merger agreement that would create the world’s largest airline.

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

A Scituate couple who sued the town’s Board of Health over a nearby wind turbine have withdrawn their suit but say they may refile it depending upon the board’s actions.

Chatham contemplates another breach in one of its barrier beaches.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Whitey Bulger’s lawyer goes for the three-rail billiard shot, arguing in court that his client was not an FBI informant — but that he nonetheless had been granted immunity from a now-deceased federal prosecutors for all crimes, including murder.

A growing number of police departments are using a software program developed by a former Rockland detective to track stolen goods if someone tries to sell a stolen item to a pawn shop.

MEDIA

A seismic shake-up on the Boston sports radio scene as Glenn Ordway, aka The Big O, who dominated the format for years,is being ousted for a younger replacement as WEEI continues to lose ground in its battle with 98.5 The Sports Hub.

The Knight Foundation does a 180, apologizing for paying plagiarizing journalist Jonah Lehrer to appear at a conference. In The New Republic, Isaac Chotiner argues that much more troubling than his fabrications and plagiarism is Lehrer’s meteoric rise to journalistic stardom based on shoddy pop science writing. Former TNR boss Martin Peretz slings darts at the magazine’s new leadership in a Wall Street Journal op-ed column.

Meredith, the magazine publisher, is holding talks to buy Time Inc. from Time-Warner, CNN Money reports.