Reid Calls Chinese Leader a 'Dictator'
Politics Daily reports:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid branded Chinese President Hu Jintao a "dictator" on a local TV talk show on Tuesday night, a remark likely to make the start of Hu's first state visit to Washington, D.C., awkward for President Obama at a moment when the U.S. is trying to ease tensions with the Asian power.
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 with a grin. "He can do a lot of things through the form of government they have."
The senator quickly seemed to realize what he had said and continued, "Maybe I shouldn't have said dictator. But they have a different type of government than we have, and that is an understatement."
