I think he was being shrewd enough to quit before he looks too much like a loser or also-ran so he's not too damaged to try again in 2020 or 2024. I've always said his optics were bad for national politics. Jug ears, unfocused look in his eyes from one being a teeny bit off, his weird bald spot, and somewhat nasal voice.
I'm now crossing my fingers he doesn't get offered any cabinet spots or a VP slot. Like Brimic, I really wanted to keep him here in WI more than I wanted to see him as POTUS.
His WI bona-fides from the huge union fights and dirty pool with the years long fishing expeditions by Democrat DA's made him a GOP darling, but he didn't really have any exposure on national issues, and when peppered on them, he probably got bad advice from his staff on how to respond and try to make everyone happy, and later on how to try and counter Trump.
He was also a victim of his success, he peaked so early in the polls, they weren't ready.
He and Perry were arguably the two most experienced in executive leadership, with Kaisch running third in that, and he's a bottom scraper in the polls too. Christie is a RINO and also scudding along the bottom. Now the leaders are a loudmouth real-estate mogul who isn't even conservative. A neurosurgeon with best selling books, and the former CEO of HP, half who credit her with saving the company, and half with running it into the ground to become an inkjet refill scam. None of whom has ever held any kind of office.
We're insanely lucky the DNC is just as screwed up, with uber-dirty Hillary, who's also possibly hiding huge health problems, and weird old doddering commie Bernie Sanders.
Right now my fallback position is Rubio, and hoping Donald HAS to "burn out" sooner or later.