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If President Bush persuades Congress to lift the ban, oil rigs like this one off Canada will appear off U.S. shores.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) - Sen. Barack Obama responded Saturday to criticism that he shifted his position opposing offshore oil drilling.

Obama said Friday that he would be willing to compromise on his position against offshore oil drilling if it were part of a more overarching strategy to lower energy costs.

"My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," Obama told The Palm Beach Post early into a two-day swing through Florida.

But on Saturday morning, Obama said this "wasn't really a new position."

"I made a general point about the fact that we need to provide the American people some relief and that there has been constructive conversations between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate on this issue so I applaud them on that but I am not ready to sign off on any particular approach or proposal because I think these are very important issues," he said during a press conference in Cape
Canaveral, Florida.

Obama added: "What I will not do, and this has always been my position is to support a plan that suggests this drilling is the answer to our energy problems. If we've got a plan on the table that
I think meets the goals that America has to set and there are some things in there that I don't like then obviously that's something that you know I would consider because that's the nature of how we
govern in a democracy."

The senator from Illinois has railed against offshore drilling since Sen. John McCain in June proposed striking down the federal moratorium banning offshore oil and gas drilling to help alleviate high gas
prices.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sens. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain responded Saturday regarding Senator Ted Kennedy's hospitalization earlier in the day.

Obama, who won the endorsement of the Masachuessets senator, said that his "thoughts and prayers" are with the senator, who was rushed to the hospital earlier Saturday.

At a campaign event in Eugene Oregon, Sen. Obama told his audience: “You know as I have said many times before, Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history – he has done more for the health care of others than just about anybody in history and so we are going to be rooting for him.”

Clinton, meanwhile, released a statement on Kennedy.

"My thoughts and prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery."

Later at a campaign picnic at Laredo in Kentucky, Sen. Clinton said of Kennedy…” Nobody has fought harder to make sure everybody got good health care and I know that we all join together in wishing him well."

In a press release, McCain said he was "very sorry to hear that Senator Kennedy has taken ill, and like millions of Americans, Cindy and I anxiously await word of his condition."

"Senator Kennedy's role in the U.S. Senate cannot be overstated. He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner. I consider it a great privilege to call him my friend. Cindy and I are praying for our friend, his wife, Vicki and the Kennedy family," he added.