Michael Scherer takes a look at the Center for American Progress [3] (CAP), which has become "the most influential independent organization in Obama [4]'s nascent Washington." Scherer notes that CAP was founded just five years ago by John Podesta [5] as a deliberate attempt to imitate the previous success of conservative think tanks [6] such as the Heritage Foundation [7]. "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."