No, I'm being honest, and you are not. Words have meaning.
And now you're being obtuse. "A fine candidate" means exactly that. It's faint praise.
He didn't say "she's a great justice," "I agree with her rulings," "I agree with her approach to interpreting the Constitution," or anything else that might be construed as an endorsement. "A fine candidate" here means someone who is well-qualified. And she was well-qualified...Phil Gramm and Strom Thurmond voted for her.
Words do have meaning. You're just having a hard time understanding the meaning of these particular words.