Her personal story is touching, starting from a hardscrabble background in a rural, cold-weather state with a reputation for independence, an impressive quality of life, political pragmatism and excellent recipes for moose meat.

She knows what it’s like to serve as a Republican governor in the aforementioned state – intimately – but lacks the breadth of chief executive experience of other potential vice presidents.

She’s known as a maverick, a marcher-to-the-beat-of-her-own-drummer who often bucks her party’s sensibilities to forge cross-aisle partnerships. In her government tenure, this has earned her the respect of power-brokers and policymakers of all ideological stripes.

Yet this willingness to question her Republican brethren hasn’t led to questions about her personal allegiances. She is a staunch member and supporter of the Grand Old Party, though she doesn’t allow this status to fully define her.

She’s got a reputation for toughness. Her childhood, in what could be considered unforgiving territory, helped shape it. Plus, her gender has been an obstacle, and her meteoric rise has broken down barrier after barrier.

She’s the first woman to accomplish what she has done in American government. Even without her innumerable achievements, this will echo her name into history alongside other notable women, to serve as inspiration to others across the entire nation.

Oh, she speaks her mind, too. Her voiced opinions are usually as barbed and straight-flying as any arrow. Anyone who has listened to her speak knows she doesn’t pull many punches. If she believes something, she’ll let you know.

And if she wants something done, she’s been known to be insistent.

All this achievement, influence and ability, however, hasn’t insulated her from personal challenges. Not everything has gone perfectly in her life, but she’s rebounded from these trying tests to continue her important public work.

Her unique position has made her a media target, too. To some people, she’s revered and admired. Certain others, ideologues mostly, try to discredit her achievements and influence as being somehow flimsy.

(Those who know her, especially those old friends from her hometown, think this appraisal is a pile of deer scat.)

Given her experience and qualifications – and her unwavering support for Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain – Sen. Olympia Snowe has everything necessary to be his perfect running mate and vice president of the United States.

So, why didn’t he pick her?