Oregon Republican Party chairman Vance Day said on Monday that Democrats were obviously not united around Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) because Obama’s pick of U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) was a sign that Democrats were afraid he was unprepared to be president.

“By adding Joe Biden to the ticket, they are trying to fortify him in areas he is weak,” Day said. “I happen to like Joe Biden, but even Joe Biden says Obama is not ready to lead.”

Day was addressing reporters via conference call from St. Paul, where he was making preparations for the Republican National Convention, which will begin a week from today. Day said he had been keeping an eye on the press coverage of the Democratic convention, and while he saw Democrats trying to unite behind Obama’s message of change, Day said it was apparent to him that it wasn’t working.

“They’ve got a long way to go to bridge some bitterly divided groups,” Day said. “I think that it’s pretty clear that millions of Democrats believe Barack Obama is not ready to lead.”