Again, the two women Republican Senators from Maine–Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins–seem to be on the way to bipartisan support of the health care bill, as they were of the economic stimulus bill last winter.
Snowe voted for the Baucus Senate Finance Committee bill, and Collins now hints she may also be willing to support the bill on the Senate floor.
The problem for both is their unwillingness to support a public option as costing too much and adding to the debt, so if the House bill or the Senate Health Committee (Tom Harkin of Iowa) wins out over the Baucus bill, they may yet vote no, but even the possibility of support is appealing to the Obama Administration.
Some observers also think that George Voinovich of Ohio, another moderate and getting ready to retire from the Senate in 2010, might be a possible vote for a health care overhaul.
At the same time, there is no hint that even one GOP congressman will vote for it when the House gets to the final roll call.
The growing impact of Maine and its independent streak politically, as evidenced through its two GOP senators and otherwise, may yet be the story of the year, depending on events yet to be foretold.