Viguerie told a reporter that he was sure that Americans would elect a conservative if presented the truth, saying "I figure that 80% of the American public would vote conservative if we had a neutral press. The whole liberal philosophy is bankrupt. Public schools are a disaster and will become a major campaign issue in two years, over who is going to have the say over children--parents, or the professional educators. The liberal foreign policy is in a total shambles. The evidence is what's happening in Portugal, Southeast Asia, our declining military posture. But the press is protecting the liberals. The Republicans make it easy for them by echoing the same thing." To back up his position he pointed to Gallup polls that showed that while only 17% of Americans called themselves Republicans, 62% called themselves conservatives. He was heartened by another Gallup poll that showed that 25% of the electorate favored the formation of a new conservative party.