Why not?

That’s a question we find ourselves asking after reading an article in the Bangor Daily News Friday. Why not?

As reporter Jeff Tuttle wrote, a fellow from Indiana has created a Web site hoping to “draft” Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe into a run for the White House.

While still under construction, www.OlympiaSnowe2008.com, will help tell the rest of the country something most Mainers already know. Snowe is a different kind of politician who leads from the middle. Many conservative Republicans have real problems with her stands on abortion rights and support for social programs. Democrats, meanwhile, have supported her statewide, but might be more reluctant to cross party lines in a race for the presidency.

Snowe would have a difficult time in a Republican primary, where voters tend to be more conservative and being pro-choice might impossible to overcome. But those same hurdles face former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, yet he’s still mentioned as a possible candidate in 2008.

For now, Snowe says her only intentions are running for re-election in 2006. Given her popularity in the state, that shouldn’t preclude other explorations.

There’s no doubt it would be a long shot, but Snowe has consistently shown herself to be an advocate for the poor, for the environment, for women and for all of Maine. She has also worked to bring some level of sanity to the out-of-control federal budget without destroying the industrial and social fabric of the country.

Why not, indeed.