Racism is driving the recent anger-charged criticism of President Barack Obama, ex-president Jimmy Carter said. "I think that an overwhelming proportion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, he's African-American," Carter, 84, told a television channel. "I live in the South, and I have seen the South come a long way," Carter added. "But that racism inclination still exists, and I think it has bubbled up to the surface because of a belief among many white people, not just in the South but across the country, that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this great country."