No, I'm not talking about the heavenly light that emanates from his mere countenance. On Friday, Sen. Barack Obama said that he would be open to a compromise that would allow "limited" offshore drilling as part of a package of other alternative energy solutions.

Is it a flip-flop? Yes, but so was John McCain's abandonment of his long-held opposition to offshore drilling.

The difference between the two is that McCain recognized months ago that $4 gasoline was causing extreme economic hardship on the Americans at the economic margins. Yet, as recently as early last week, Obama was touting proper tire inflation as the solution to America's oil woes.

Also, Obama's surrogates are trying to downplay Obama's change of heart by saying that he's only been opposed to offshore oil production as the "only" solution to the energy issue. (This point was made by Obama surrogate and former Clinton administration energy secretary Frederico Pena on Fox News earlier this afternoon.) This is a strawman. No one has touted offshore drilling as the "only" solution.

Now that both presidential candidates are on the same page on this issue, maybe they can convince House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to stop their stonewalling and allow a vote.