ST. BERNARD PARISH, La. -- Former President Jimmy Carter is trying to clarify his criticism of President George W. Bush that appeared in an Arkansas newspaper.

Carter was quoted by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as saying the Bush administration "has been the worst in history."

That prompted an angry reaction from the White House, which called Carter "increasingly irrelevant."

On NBC's "Today" show Monday morning, the former president said his words were "perhaps careless or misinterpreted." He says he was only responding to a question about foreign policy, comparing the Bush administration to that of Richard Nixon.

"I wasn't comparing the overall administration and I certainly was not talking personally," Carter said in the interview Monday. "I'm careful not to criticize any president personally."

Carter said Bush's foreign policy is "much worse" than Nixon's.

The former president was speaking from Louisiana, where Habitat for Humanity is beginning construction of its 1,000th house along the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina.