Last year on The Stephen Colbert show, Colbert asked Lucas if he owned all the SW movies on DVD, and Lucas replied, "Yes I do......even TPM!" Which was a joke, but a calculated one. He knows TPM took a beating by critics and fans, and he knows Jar Jar is disdained by any fan over the age of 8, thats why his role is severely cut in AOTC & ROTS.
Lucas knows what is going on in SW-fandom, and thats why he put out the OOT last year. I always think why he didn't release the '97 versions on DVD to the public? CAUSE NOBODY WAS ASKING FOR THEM!!!
Lucas made this crack about ESB solely because it is the most beloved of the SW films. Although I still say The Original Star Wars is the best, with ESB at 1a.