BOB ABERNETHY: And now our Cover Story -- the man many call the "new leader of the Christian Right." Since Ralph Reed left the Christian Coalition last year, Gary Bauer of the Family Research Council has emerged as the most vigorous spokesman for the conservative social agenda, and although he's never held elected office, Bauer is thinking about running for president. Bob Faw of NBC News has our profile.

BOB FAW: He is pint-sized, just over five feet tall, and unfailingly polite, but do not be deceived. Gary Bauer has been called everything from the savior of the Republican Party to its biggest menace.

GARY BAUER (Family Research Council): Everything from abortion on demand, to the growing power of the great gay rights movement, to the fact that the culture that comes out of Hollywood and Madison Avenue seem so hostile to average families' values. I want those issues to be a major part of the political agenda.

FAW: Now 51 and president of the fiercely conservative Family Research Council, Bauer was Ronald Reagan's domestic policy advisor for eight years, but the devoted father of three grew up in a family of hard-core Democrats. A scrapper even then, he was nicknamed "Nails" by drinking buddies of his father, Spike.

Mr. BAUER: My father was an alcoholic. A lot of the men he worked with at the steel mill never made it home from that steel mill on a Friday night, because they lost their paychecks on the way at either the casinos or with prostitutes, or whatever. So I saw a lot of broken families because of the breakdown of values.

FAW: From that rough-and-tumble beginning, Gary Bauer also saw something else, and it changed his life.

Mr. BAUER: Part of who I am was formed by my faith. I attended a Southern Baptist church when I was growing up. My grandmother was the one who took me to it. And certainly, it would be a lie to say that doesn't play an important part of my life.

FAW: So important that on the social issues that are his primary concern, Gary Bauer is, unlike most in the political arena, inflexible and unwilling to compromise, while personally mild-mannered, even humorous.

Unidentified Man #1: I hear your voice, but I've never seen you, so ...

Mr. BAUER: Yes. People tell me that they imagine a much bigger guy, you know. Well, I was actually about six four when I first came to ...

FAW: His pro-family, low taxes, small government views are decidedly hard-line.

Listen, for example, to what he says about homosexuality.

Mr. BAUER: Popular culture is telling parents that if they love their children, they have to accept their homosexuality. And you know that's a lie. You know that if you love your children, you've got to stay rooted in your biblical faith and foundation, and only by doing that, can you save your children.

I'm Gary Bauer for WASHINGTON WATCH.

FAW: But what sets this evangelical Christian apart is not that he's outspoken.

Mr. BAUER: Puerto Rico as the 51st state. Does that sound like an idea to help American families? Well, not to me.