Carter Says "Bush The Worst In History"

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter blasted George W. Bush's presidency as "the worst in history" in international relations and denounced British PM Tony Blair's relationship with Bush as "Abominable, Loyal, blind, apparently subservient," in interviews over the weekend.

Carter told NBC's "Today Show" that he had confined his remarks to the war in Iraq and what he called the lack of 'peace efforts' between Israel and the Palestinians.

Carter was quoted in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Saturday's editions as saying "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history."

The Democrat said Bush had overseen an "overt reversal of America's basic values" as expressed by previous administrations, including that of his own father, former President George H.W. Bush.

The White House dismissed Carter yesterday as "increasingly irrelevant" after his harsh criticism of President George W. Bush.

But Carter said today he was responding to a question comparing this administration's foreign policy with that of Richard Nixon. He says Nixon had what Carter calls a "good and productive foreign policy."

Asked about the White House's comments about relevancy, Carter said "I don't claim to have any relevancy. I have a completely unofficial capacity. The only thing I lead is the Carter Center."

But Carter went on to say that he always writes a report when he visits other countries, including monitoring Palestinian elections, and always shares it with whichever president is in office. As he puts it "I have not been timid about sharing my opinion with those leaders, but obviously I don't have any authority."

The former president was speaking from Louisiana, where Habitat for Humanity is beginning construction of its one-thousandth house along the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina.