Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan were certainly not "pretty" nor really "central casting types" for POTUS.
Could be true, but that was different times. We lost to Clinton because Dole and Bush 1 were boring compared to Clinton and we won with George W. because Gore and Kerry were boring. Sorry that it is that way, but with 24 hour news you need someone with a pretty good personality. I am not saying that Duncan Hunter doesn't have a good personality. I am just speaking generally.
Actually, we lost on Bush I because he caved on taxes, and then Bill Clinton ran on a middle class tax cut.