Former President Jimmy Carter sharply criticized the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, saying the Democratic icon, lionized for his career-long advocacy of health care for all Americans, actually delayed that goal by 30 years.

Former President Jimmy Carter speaks at The Carter Center Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010 in Atlanta.(AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

In an interview to be aired on CBS’s “60 Minutes, Carter tells reporter Leslie Stahl that “we would have had comprehensive health care now, had it not been for Ted Kennedy’s deliberately blocking the legislation that I proposed. It was his fault. Ted Kennedy killed the bill,” according to CBS.

He goes on to say Kennedy then challenged him in his 1980 re-election bid because, “He did not want to see me have a major success in that realm of life.”

Kennedy, one of the leading advocates for this year’s health care bill, died of a brain tumor before the sweeping overhaul was enacted in March. As he signed the bill, President Barack Obama honored Kennedy by wearing a blue “TedStrong” wristband. The new law, with a big price tag and requirement that most people must have insurance coverage, has now become an issue in the midterm elections…