May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Former President Jimmy Carter said remarks he made about Republican President George W. Bush's foreign policy were ``careless or misinterpreted.''

Carter, a Georgia Democrat, had called Bush's record on international relations ``the worst in history'' in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published May 19.

``My remarks were maybe careless or misinterpreted, but I wasn't comparing the overall administration and I was certainly not talking personally about any president,'' the 39th president said in an interview on NBC's ``Today Show'' this morning.

Bush, asked today about Carter's comments, said he gets ``criticized a lot from different quarters and that's what happens when you're president'' and defended his policies. He didn't mention Carter or directly react to his remarks.

``We're at war with an enemy that is relentless and determined, and it's essential that the decisions I make protect the American people as best we can,'' the president said during a news conference at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Carter, 82, told the Arkansas newspaper that Bush's policies represent an ``overt reversal of America's basic values'' as established by previous administrations, including those of his father, George H.W. Bush, and other Republican presidents.

Nixon Comparison

Today the ex-president said his characterization of Bush's policies came in response to a question about former President Richard Nixon. ``This administration's foreign policy, compared to President Nixon's, was much worse,'' Carter said on NBC. ``I wasn't comparing this administration with other administrations back through history but just with President Nixon's.''

Frank Fellone, deputy editor of the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette, said the newspaper posted a clip from the audio recording of Carter's comments on its Web site. On the recording, Carter is asked, ``Which president was worse, George W. Bush or Richard Nixon?'' His response: ``I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in hist,'' he paused, ``worse in history.'' He goes on to criticize Bush administration policies, including the doctrine of pre-emptive strikes against potential threats and the president's faith-based projects.

``If President Carter's remarks are careless or misinterpreted, they are not misinterpreted by us,'' Fellone said in an e-mailed statement.

Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, said today on NBC that he's ``been very careful, and still am, not to criticize any president personally.''

`Importance of Being Careful'

White House spokesman Tony Fratto initially declined to comment yesterday on Carter's newspaper interview, then told reporters later in the day that the former president is ``proving to be increasingly irrelevant'' and called his criticism ``reckless'' and ``personal.'' Fratto said today's explanation by Carter ``highlights the importance of being careful in choosing your words.''

In the newspaper interview, Carter said he is against Bush's doctrine of so-called pre-emptive war to deal with potential threats, part of the rationale for the Iraq war, the Democrat-Gazette reported. He called it a ``radical departure'' from past U.S. policy, the newspaper said.

In a separate interview with BBC Radio 4's ``Today'' program, posted on its Web site May 19, Carter said British Prime Minister Tony Blair's backing of Bush over the Iraq war had been ``apparently subservient.'' Carter said British support for Bush's ``ill-advised policies have been a major tragedy for the world,'' according to the BBC.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nadine Elsibai in Washington at nelsibai@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 21, 2007 15:30 EDT