If President Barack Obama does not get what he wants from Congress this year, he will take the desired action on his own, White House aides have warned. So, what else is new?

"The president sees this as a year of action to work with Congress where he can and to bypass Congress where necessary," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters a few days ago. Other advisers to the president said that means action by executive order, not legislation from Congress.

That is not a fresh approach by this president, however. During much of his five years in office, Obama has taken it upon himself to issue wide-ranging executive orders on matters that properly should have been left to Congress. He has made the Environmental Protection Agency a virtually unfettered tool to do his will, whether lawmakers agree or not.

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