. . .and didn’t have the guts or the competency to effectively counter any of it.
Well, of course, this is a matter of opinion. Personally, I think it was just a personal preference on his part not to do the "PR" stuff.
A good solid "Cloth Coat Republican" answer. However, Goody, communication is a key, perhaps THE key, part of a leader's job, whether GW personally liked it or not. cf. Ronald Reagan.
If he had this personal antipathy to PR, he should have delegated PR to someone else, and made sure it was effective.
An enduring mystery: Why Republicans, ostensibly the businessman's party, are loathe to do proper marketing and PR. Instead, they tend to fall prey to every marketing charlatan in DC and run campaigns that even a used car dealer would scorn. My advice to the RNC, use the Yellow Pages. You'll get better results.