GIve a little here, give a little there

Welcome to compromise. And as Politico.com's Martin Kady II notes, that's the theme as the health care discussions continue in the Senate:

The path to 60 is still a long, long way away, but here's a few deals that could be made before Christmas to get the bill through the Senate:

1.Getting a public option compromise. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is working on a trigger deal that could lure Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) but still hold together the rest of the Democrats.

2. Stronger abortion language. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), another Democratic holdout, has an abortion amendment – it may not pass intact but some tweak to abortion restrictions may buy his support.

3. Sweetener for Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.). If the first two of these fall into place, all Harry Reid may need is something that brings along moderate holdout Lincoln – though it's not clear what she's asking for behind the scenes.

That's a lot of ifs and buts in a big, complicated debate that favors minority party maneuvers to delay and filibuster at every turn. But the beginning of votes today may be the spark needed to start cutting deals.