Jim thanks for researching this, discussing it and posting it. Hope we find out if he actually said it.
If Bush didn't say it, he or his staff should have corrected Barnes, instead of using it to their advantage by leaving it to everyone's imagination.
Then again, politicians use every misquote and misinterpretation by the Press if it works to their advantage.
Yeah, well, if that was GWB's intention with this matter, to let a false inflated impression of SCOTUS nominees persist, he sure has misunderstimated the political "benefit" of that. He's got a divided party on his hands. Not the sort of thing that a leader should strive for. And I have the impression he has no intention of repairing the split.