Obama's Idea Factory

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Michael Scherer takes a look at the Center for American Progress (CAP), which has become "the most influential independent organization in Obama's nascent Washington." Scherer notes that CAP was founded just five years ago by John Podesta as a deliberate attempt to imitate the previous success of conservative think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation. "It is difficult to overstate the influence in Obamaland of CAP, a group with roughly $25 million in annual funding from mostly anonymous individuals, corporations and unions," Scherer writes. "Podesta himself is leading Obama's transition effort, holding press conferences to speak for the President-elect, with an operation beneath him filled with CAP alum."