The Senate Finance Committee is aiming to do something that rarely works in Congress: pass high-profile legislation that is embraced by centrists but opposed by the left and the right.
Even though some of the policies in the Finance Committee's yet-to-be-released bill have not been revealed, the political strategy of getting the bill to President Barack Obama's desk is clear.
Finance Committee leaders Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) know that if they can strike a deal, it will likely be rejected by legislators on the left and the right. But the many centrists in the Senate may embrace it, which could lead to backing from a White House that is desperate for Congress to pass health reform in 2009.
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