I loved the pod race without the announcer! You'd never know he was ever there. It took skill to pull this off, and you did it.
And the way you cut "weesa goin' hoooooome!" was terrific, because I always hated that, and I've tried to cut it before, and I remember it being extremely difficult. I appreciated your manipulation of the music to make that transition work.
The trims at Palpatine's pad worked much better than I thought they would. I was skeptical about this at first, because I love all of Palpatine's scenes. But, you don't lose anything that isn't explained later. I actually think you made it flow better and it added some tension to not know that the Republic really wasn't what it once was until after Amidala witnesses it's malfunction. It also suggests that Palpatine believes in the system, where before it seemed like he was trash-talking it, then saying "I want to be Chancellor". Now, when he promises to end corruption, it seems like he's playing to her and manipulating her further. It's amazing to me that such a simple cut, which you probably made for pacing reasons above all else, adds so much more depth to that part of the story.
And of course the very end shot of the movie was perfect, it's something I always wanted to do. It's the way they should've ended it in the first place.
While being a pretty conservative edit, and not quite as radical a cut as I think this film needs, I still think you've made some very good decisions and executed them seamlessly. And while a person who truly hates TPM won't be impressed by this version, I think it goes a long way in making it watchable for those who only had minor problems with the film.
So, great job! I'm looking forward to watching the other two.
--ID