Ted Olson, who won the Supreme Court case that put Bush in the White House, is a darling of the conservative legal movement. Yet he also partnered with David Boies, his opponent in Bush v. Gore, to argue in favor of overturning Proposition 8 in California. How can such things be?

That's what Chris Wallace wanted to know when Olson appeared on "Fox News Sunday" yesterday to discuss the case. What ensued was a mutually testy showdown in which both host and guest accused each other of interrupting, misunderstanding the constitution, and failing to grasp the meaning of the phrase "judicial activism." Eventually Olson, in the undisputed line of the segment, was moved to declare "Would you like Fox's right to a free press put up to a vote?" Wallace promptly changed the subject to "the process going forward."

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Ray Gustini