DENVER -- Former U.S. Rep. Denny Smith (R-Ontario) said Tuesday that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama I(D-Ill.) may have wowed a lot of people on the campaign trail, but that did not mean he was ready to lead.

“He’s been wrong on taxes, wrong on the surge. And he won’t even admit he was wrong on the surge,” Smith said via conference call from Oregon. “We ought to make him campaigner of the year. But not president.”

Smith, who is an honorary co-chair for presidential candidate John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) grassroots team in Oregon, also said that Obama’s nomination for president over U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) had left Democrats bitterly divided.

McCain campaign spokesman Rick Gorka also stressed that despite the fact that Obama won the nomination, many top Democrats, including Obama’s running mate, had questioned his ability to fulfill his duty in that role.

“The fact of the matter is Barack Obama is not ready to lead,” Gorka said. “Joe Biden has said that Barack Obama is not ready to lead, and we agree. Hillary Clinton has said that Barack Obama is not ready to lead, and we agree.”

Clinton will be the featured speaker at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night.