Watt did he really say?

Hat tip: Powerline.)

One of the "American Taliban" quotes has James Watt saying:

I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns.

(I seem to recall this quote appearing in Newsweek, back during the Reagan administration.)

In a recent article, Watt offers some context:

A liberal theologian and active participant in the National Council of Churches, Barbara R. Rossing of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, published a book titled "The Rapture Exposed." ... Rossing contends that Christians who believe in the Rapture presume that there is no need for stewardship of natural resources because of the expected return of the Lord. She writes: "Watt told U.S. senators that we are living at the brink of the end-times and implied that this justifies clear-cutting the nation's forest and other unsustainable environmental policies. When he was asked about preserving the environment for future generations, Watt told his Senate confirmation hearing, 'I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns.' Watt's 'use it or lose it' view of the world's resources is a perspective shared by the Rapture proponents." Rossing fictionalizes this whole scenario and neglects to finish the sentence, which was as follows: "I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns; whatever it is we have to manage with a skill to leave the resources needed for future generations."

But then if she had, it would have lost so much of its punch. And it wouldn't have made nearly as juicy a quote for that American Taliban document.

I wonder how solid the rest of the quotes are.