The Best Prepared Candidate for President

I think that the best prepared candidate in our history was James Madison, the father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He served as the leader of the House of Representatives and later, for eight years, as Secretary of state for Thomas Jefferson.  

Number two was probably John Quincy Adams. His father had been President. John Quincy Adams served in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and as Secretary of State. In that capacity he and Great Britain settled the border with Canada. He negotiated with Spain for the annexation of Florida and drafted the Monroe Doctrine. He also negotiated the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812.