The woman who dropped a political bombshell eight months ago when she announced she would not seek re-election has some advice for her successor: Lead. Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe holds little hope that the hyper-partisan, gridlocked Congress that prompted her decision will change very much next year. But Snowe says she will be working from the outside to fix the problem. And, as Susan Sharon reports, she says she also wants to overturn the controversial Supreme Court decision that opened the floodgates to third-party campaign spending.

Sen. Snowe's message about the need to restore civility and bipartisanship to Washington appears to be resonating widely. This week, Maine's senior senator was featured on the CBS news program 60 Minutes, and her decision to join the board of the National Institute for Civil Discourse was the subject of a New York Times Editorial. The Times praised Snowe for building a "notable reputation as a moderate" during her 34 years on Capitol Hill.

Heading to her polling place at Falmouth High School Tuesday morning, Snowe was greeted by well-wishers from both parties. For the first time in 40 years, Snowe's own name was not on the ballot for the state legislature or the U.S. Congress. And on the eve of her retirement from politics in January, Snowe admits she's feeling nostalgic.

"I loved public service. I always have. I love people. And I love the institution of the Senate and Congress overall," Snowe says. "I just regret not doing the job that's necessary for these consequential times, and that's, you know, my deepest and most abiding concern. And I feel I can best contribute outside the system right now and move it in a different direction."

Snowe declined to say who she voted for to replace her in the U.S. Senate. She endorsed her former chief of staff, Republican Kevin Raye, in the race for the 2nd Congressional District. But she withheld support from former aide Charlie Summers in his quest to win election to her U.S. Senate seat. Last year, Summers declined to endorse his former boss, saying it would be a conflict of interest in his role as Maine's Secretary of State.

Snowe says whoever gets the Senate job needs to follow the mandate of this election: "I have heard this across the political spectrum, across the country, certainly across Maine - people want their government to work, and they're desperate for strong, effective, practical leadership, both on part of the president, whoever that happens to be, and also on the part of members of Congress. They have a public trust. That's what it's all about."

It's a sentiment raised by Portland voters Andrew Doody and Forest Gagne, who were asked what their hopes are for the next Congress.

"Parties need to start working together like they did back in the 80s with Reagan and the first Bush, because right now nothing gets done," Doody says.

"I think it would be nice to get down to the essentials and stop worrying about, like, fighting and battles, and just kind of, like, focus on the priorities, like our environment and our planet," Gagne says.

Other voters, such as Terry Grover of Portland, want campaign finance reform. Grover was collecting signatures to overturn the landmark Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United, which allowed unlimited independent political expenditures by corporations and unions.

"I would like for the elections to be for the people again, so that we don't have unlimited Super PACs who can be anonymous and have turned our election process into this poisonous soup," Grover says.

Outside groups have spent more than $7 million on Maine's U.S. Senate race alone. And Sen. Snowe says the unleashing of their attack ads has been a disservice to the candidates and the voters because they've dampened discussion of real issues. That's why Snowe says she'd endorse a future effort to repeal Citizens United.

"It's ridiculing our process, it's ridiculing, frankly, the common sense, practicality and intelligence of the American people," Snowe says. "They expect better, should get better, deserve better."

One of the campaign finance provisions struck down by the the Supreme Court was co-authored by Snowe, which would have banned the use of corporate or union money to pay to influence the outcome of an election. Look for her to try to build consensus around this issue and others even after she retires from public office.