(CNN) -- President Obama seems determined to launch a two-front war with the new Republican Congress. The bigger news has been about his threatened executive order on immigration. The White House, however, has also indicated a determination to greet the new Senate majority leader from coal country with a series of very expensive environmental regulations necessitated by the climate agreement he announced with China. Before he takes these steps, President Obama should take a few days off and read a couple of books about President Woodrow Wilson's last two years in office. There are a lot of parallels between the two presidents. Both were college professors. Both liked to hide on a golf course (Wilson holds the record having played more than 1,000 rounds as President). Both were powerful orators. Both had deeply held convictions. Both disliked the Congress.
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Newt Gingrich: President Obama may take steps that would inflame GOP in Congress
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He says executive action on immigration, coal industry regulations would be confrontational
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Gingrich: Obama should study career of Woodrow Wilson, who fought and lost vs. Congress
The collapse of the @placeholder presidency after the 1918 midterm defeat is a cautionary tale for President Obama.