McCain would have been even worse than Bush on just about every count. Forbes would have been far better than either, but smart man though he is, he'd manage to make even Al Gore seem animated and charismatic by comparison. The only other choices in the GOP primary were Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes, both of whom seemed to think they were running for preacher rather than President.
It's as though the party intentionally picked an unelectable crop for the primaries so that we'd get stuck with the Bush heir to the throne, with McCain as a pinch-hitter. They tried to do the same with Jeb in 2016, and would have probably succeeded if it weren't for Trump. If nothing else, Americans owe Trump a huge debt of gratitude for standing in the way of two people (Bush and Clinton) who felt that their names alone entitled them to the highest office in the land.
Pataki or Gingrich would have won in 2000 had he run.
GOP 2000 primaries were pretty bland.