American politics are becoming an embarrassment, Jimmy Carter says

SALT LAKE CITY — The American political atmosphere is becoming an embarrassment, former President Jimmy Carter told reporters at the King's English Bookshop on Thursday.

"Americans don't realize how dramatically our political atmosphere has gone downhill," Carter said.

Candidates are now getting massive amounts of money that is being used in negative campaigns. "The best way to get elected or re-elected now is to tear down the reputation or character of your opponent," he said. "That builds up a distrust because they are constantly attacking on television, and by the time the successful candidate gets to Washington, they have that deep feeling of animosity and division that carries into the deliberations of the Congress."

Carter was in Salt Lake City to sign copies of his latest book, "White House Diary," which is a condensed version of his 5,000-page diary — daily notes and dictations transcribed by one of his secretaries — written during his presidency.

The King's English has been preparing for Carter's visit since March, pre-selling books and planning how to best move hundreds of people through a small store in a short amount of time, said Anne Holman, who coordinates events for the shop. The store sold between 900 and 1,000 copies of the "White House Diary" for Thursday's signing.

More than 800 people waited in line for hours to greet the former president and get his autograph. Carter briefly stopped signing to answer a few questions from the media.

Interparty relations was one of the major topics Carter addressed.

During his time as president, Carter says he had superb support from the Republican Party. "I had the best batting average with the Congress than any president except Lyndon Johnson since the second World War," Carter said, "and it was because I got support from Republicans."

That's not the case now. "Republicans have been completely irresponsible in the last 20 months," Carter said.

The GOP's refusal to give President Barack Obama any support, even on items that Republicans backed in the past, is ridiculous, Carter said. "I'm not criticizing individuals, but I think they have been irresponsible."

Carter believes that once the midterm elections are over and the Republicans take over the House, members of the GOP will have to be more responsible because they won't be able to avoid saying they had some part to say in the decision.