If Sen. Olympia Snowe knows how far she will stray from the Republican base to support President Obama's stimulus bill, she's not saying.

But she is saying enough to indicate that she would be willing to vote for a spending and tax-cut package that is very different from what her party leaders have in mind.

Snowe, who visited the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram editorial board on Friday, once again finds herself in the middle of debate over a major piece of legislation.

Snowe's position is even more crucial than in the past, because with 58 senators in the Democratic caucus, they are two votes shy of the magic number needed to end debate and send a matter up for a vote.

Last week, the U.S. House passed its version of the stimulus bill without a single Republican vote, but that can't happen in the Senate, where the minority, if it sticks together, can prevent any bill from going anywhere.

Snowe was the only Republican on the Senate Finance Committee to give initial support for the stimulus bill, and her reason for backing it doesn't sound like a Republican talking point.

Snowe said that she wants to see Medicaid funding increased to help states cover a growing number of people who have nowhere else to go for health care. This provision has been criticized by other prominent Republicans, who say it reinforces state governments' bad spending habits. But Snowe said Medicaid increases that would speed up overdue payments to providers and extended unemployment benefits are the fastest forms of stimulus.

She also supports long-term investments in "jobs of the future," in the form of tax credits for renewable energy and health information technology.

But she is not ready to go along with all the spending in the bill as it is now proposed. Money for ongoing programs should be part of the regular budget process and not tacked onto the nation's long-term debt, she said.

"We have a unique and compelling obligation to do what's right," Snowe said. She defined that as taking charge of the economic downturn, delivering some good news to the American people and getting credit moving again.

That may not be the 59th vote for Obama's plan, but it seems to be headed in that direction.