The Rocky Mountain News today profiles James Dobson’s increasing political clout. After a few introductory paragraphs, it gets to the point:

Dobson laid down the law after last year’s election. He and other evangelical Christian leaders helped President Bush and Republicans score decisive victories. For that, they demanded results.

Fight abortion. Block gay marriage. Stop stem cell research. Get tougher on obscenity. Keep God in the public square. And above all else, Dobson said, deliver new U.S. Supreme Court justices who will defend all of that in the courts.

If Republicans don’t deliver, Dobson told one interviewer, then “they’ll pay a price.”

Shorter version: Bush owes his reelection to the radical right. In exchange, he’s beholden to their wishes in matters of judicial selection.