Come, now, they had a few decent candidates, but they drove them all off because they didn't want anyone competing with their chosen ones.
Well I'm assuming you are refering to Pawlenty, Huntsman, Perry and/or Santorum.
Pawlenty had the resume for the job but turned out not to be a good speaker. That could happen to any unknown candidate so we'll count him and say the republicans had two real candidates.
Huntsman had one term as governor and had spent the past two years out of the country as governor. Not exactly a high profile. He was only special because he was different. He's like Schweitzer but with less experience.
Perry wasn't considered as a candidate this far out. His name only got floated after the season had started and the field failed to catch on fire. Perry would be the equivalent to someone like Jerry Brown, someone who isn't considered a likely candidate right now.
Santorum was damaged goods. He'd lost his Senate seat in a landslide and his name was mostly known at a national level for homophobia, not a winning issue in 2012.
So yeah Romney and less charismatic Romney was the extent of the field.
I thought both Hunstman and Johnson were decent.
I'm sorry but Johnson was not a contender for the republican nomination. This is made abundantly clear by the fact that in a race where 8 different candidates lead in the polls (Romney, Trump, Gingrich, Santorum, Perry, Cain, Bachman, Palin, am I forgetting someone?) Johnson never even posted decent numbers.