Olympia Snowe: GOP Maverick?

"When history calls, history calls," Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe said, explaining her aisle-crossing Finance Committee vote for a health-care overhaul Tuesday, even though the bill is far from perfect in her eyes. The Maine moderate has spent much of the health-care debate in the spotlight because she was seen as a swing vote and kept most of Washington guessing what her final verdict on the bill might be. Snowe could be the 60th vote to end a possible Republican filibuster of the bill, and her thumbs up helps the legislation seem a tiny bit bipartisan. Her GOP colleagues are considering ways to punish her for the defection, though she could end up as the sole Republican negotiator when House and Senate versions of the bill are reconciled. And Snowe indicated that she still might not vote for the final bill. Even so, it looks like health care now has enough votes to actually become law.