I'm with you on that. The fact that he's been a sitting governor carries a lot of weight with me, as opposed to some Congresscriter who does everything he can to focus blame everywhere but upon himself. He also knows how to lead in a crisis, case-in-point being his management of hurricane response and his assumption of responsibility/blame when things ran unsmoothly.
I have a general rule of thumb that I don’t view anyone as Presidential timber who hasn’t won a statewide race, even in a small state. I think it demonstrates the ability to draw support from a wide coalition and gives someone a broader perspective than being a congressman.