Carter promotes his book and bashes president

Former President Jimmy Carter, on a tour to promote his latest book, is sharply questioning the direction the Bush administration has taken the country.

"Everywhere you go, you hear, 'What has happened to the United States of America? We thought you used to be the champion of human rights. We thought you used to protect the environment. We thought you used to believe in the separation of church and state,' " Carter said Friday at Unity Temple in Kansas City, Mo.

"I felt so disturbed and angry about this radical change in America," he said.

He placed responsibility for that moral crisis largely on the Bush administration, citing a pre-emptive war policy, inadequate attention to the environment and the use of torture against some prisoners.