BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Singer and activist Harry Belafonte says President Barack Obama and his “mission” have failed because of a lack of moral courage and vision.

The president is “not a stand-alone,” Belafonte said Thursday. Regarding the debt-ceiling crisis, Belafonte said he would ask Congress, the president and other U.S. institutions of power “what happened to moral truth” and moral courage.

Belafonte made his remarks to the Television Critics Association while discussing “Sing Your Song,” a documentary about him airing this fall on HBO. The 84-year-old singer, known as the King of Calypso, has pushed for political and social change since the U.S. civil rights movement.

He hopes the documentary will illuminate a time when Americans faced problems and found the resources to face them, Belafonte said. “Sing Your Song” debuts Oct. 17.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.