OPPO IN THE MAINSTREAM.  Politico.  “Opposition research, long vilified and romanticized as a kind of political dark art, has stepped out of the closet for the 2012 presidential campaign, in which current and former opposition researchers are taking prominent roles, the self-described ‘high road’ candidate has an extensive research operation and the climate couldn’t be better for dropping negative stories small and large.”

FUNDRAISING DOESN’T TAKE A RECESS.  Roll Call.  “Members of Congress spent the past few months fighting over the nation’s balance sheet, but now that they’ve headed out of town for recess, they are in agreement about one fiscal matter: their own treasuries.”

OBAMA’S FUNDRAISING STRATEGY.  The Post.  “Obama’s strategy has concentrated on two ends of the spectrum — very large and very small donors.”

LOBBYISTS AND THE DEBT DEAL.  The Post.  “Health-care and defense lobbyists are quickly gearing up for a major lobbying and public relations campaign in response to this week’s debt-limit deal, which could force hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts for two of Washington’s most powerful industries.”

WHO GETS BUSH DONORS?  The Times.  “Two and a half years after Mr. Bush left the White House, the formidable network of Republican donors he assembled has largely melted away. ”

CANDIDATES’ KIDS ON TWITTER.  Roll Call.

FAKE TWITTER FOLLOWER CONTROVERSY.  The Post.

REP. WU:  IT’S OFFICIAL.  Politico.  “Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) made his resignation official Wednesday, clearing the way for a special election to succeed him.”

SUPER COMMITTEE IN SUNLIGHT?  Politico.  “Six Republican senators on Wednesday called on Senate leaders to ensure that a new congressional deficit-reduction committee meets in public and before television cameras.”

“SARAH PALIN’S ALASKA” GETS ETHICS OK.  Story here.  “Alaska officials have dismissed an ethics complaint filed against former Gov. Sarah Palin that alleged she violated state law because the TLC docu-series ‘Sarah Palin’s Alaska’ took advantage of a state film production incentives program she signed into law.”

CITIZENS UNITED ENDORSES IN INDIANA.  Story here.

REPORTS 12 YEARS LATE?  From Alabama.

CO CAMPAIGN FINANCE CONFLICT.  Here.  “Colorado’s secretary of state will not allow Pitkin County to continue enforcing its own campaign finance rules along with the state’s, which has added both urgency and confusion to ongoing local reform efforts.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.  The next PoliticalActivityLaw.com post will appear on Monday, August 8.  Have a good weekend.