What about John Kasich or Mitch Daniels or Mark Sanford? Any thoughts?
All are well qualified, but all lack the "wow" factor. Mark Sanford comes the closest-- he's been a legislator as well as an executive and is very well liked in South Carolina. But let's face it: most of America doesn't have the brains and moral grounding of the average South Carolinian. Is there anything to indicate he (or any of the others which you named) have the drive or desire?
All-in-all, I thought Fred Thompson would have been a great president had he put in the effort that a McCain, Romney or Huckabee put in. And we all saw how he fizzled in this modern era of dog and pony shows.