Obama Campaign Still Won't Talk About Blackwater Help

The Obama campaign still isn't answering questions about whether the presidential candidate accepted security protection from Blackwater Worldwide during his trip to Afghanistan and Iraq. Citing Paul Bedard's column in US News & World Report, London's Daily Telegraph reports,

A tight-lipped Anne Tyrrell, spokeswoman for Blackwater, said she could neither confirm nor deny that the company had been involved in the visits by the senators to Afghanistan or Iraq.

My request to Bill Burton, Obama's national spokesman, for comment on the Bedard story - including whether the alleged quote or its sentiment was genuine - went unanswered.

But a source familiar with Obama's security arrangements told me that Blackwater, along with the Secret Service, did pull security for the three senators in Afghanistan, though not Iraq.

Deceiver describes this as Obama's "Rosie O'Donnell moment" That's maybe a tad harsh but it will be interesting to see whether Obama's public position on Blackwater changes as a result of his up-close time with their personnel in Afghanistan.