Obama is asked about the Senate Dems nixing his cap-and-trade plan and his “Make Work Pay” tax credit. The reporter asks (incorrectly) whether he will sign a budget that doesn’t include them. Obama responds that “we never expected they’d simply xerox it and pass it.”

He avoids the issue on the tax credit. On cap-and-trade, he sounds much more determined, calling it “an engine of economic growth” to make people use more expensive forms of energy. “My expectation is that the energy committees . . . are going to be moving forward a strong energy package, and we’ll get it done and I’ll sign it.”

That means he knows he’s not getting cap-and-trade into the budget.