Federalism v. decentralization fail?

Harry Reid: We live in a country that is a Federal Government. What does that mean? It means, as I learned in college, that you have a central whole divided among self-governing parts. What are those self-governing parts? It is the State of Nevada, it is the State of Florida, it is the State of Tennessee, and it is the State of Hawaii-plus 46 others; none better than the other. Hawaii is equal to Florida, to Tennessee, to Nevada. 152 Cong Rec S 5637.

Would that not be simply a decentralized government?