Sen. Harry Reid (Photo by Ryan J Reilly via Flickr)

Politics Daily reports:

Reid, Obama's top legislative ally and Congress' most powerful Democrat, was responding to a question from "Face To Face" host Jon Ralston about the December compromise that extended the Bush-era tax cuts. The recently reelected Nevada senator veered off on a tangent intended to compare the American and Chinese systems of government to give a roundabout defense of the importance of legislative compromise.

"Jon, I am going to go back to Washington tomorrow and meet with the president of China. He is a dictator," Reid said. "He can do a lot of things through the form of government they have."

Then he backpedaled.

"Maybe I shouldn't have said dictator. But they have a different type of government than we have, and that is an understatement," he said.

Hu arrived in D.C. Tuesday with a formal ceremony taking place for him Wednesday morning. The New York Times reports:

The formal White House arrival ceremony – the 21-gun salute is reserved solely for visiting heads of state — was a display of pomp and circumstance that stood in stark contrast with the tough rhetoric the Obama administration is employing in its relationship with China on issues from trade to currency and human rights.

And indeed, Mr. Obama did not entirely abandon that rhetoric Wednesday morning. After promoting the virtues of Chinese and American cooperation, the president – the 2009 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize – used the ceremony to deliver a gentle reminder to China, which is holding the 2010 winner of the prize, Liu Xiaobo, as a political prisoner.

A lavish state dinner is expected to be held Wednesday evening for Hu and Reid is on the guest list.

Guess they won't be sitting near each other.