The other choices were Gore and Kerry. What else could we do? I made the same mistake. Not voting was NOT an option.
And McCain. Don’t forget that in 2000, the choices were Bush, John McCain and Alan Keyes. Everyone else - none of whom were great options either - dropped out before the first ballots were cast.
In hindsight, we all know that Keyes would have been the best choice...but Keyes was a very strange - if also unbelievably brilliant - guy. Too strange to not have been crushed by Gore.
2000 was a field of bad choices and worse choices.