I want to reply to three specifics form the last post:

First of all, I wholeheartedly agree that the allusions from the OT should have been considerd canon, and mostly immutable. I say mostly, because I think some minor adjustemts could be okay, as they were from ANH to ESB, in order to make the story work better.

Secondly, I, too have always thought that the rise of Palpatine should be based on some actual historical event. I like the idea of him being a type of Napoleon. One thing this would do is allow the writer to avoid a lot of poltical detail in order to support the idea. We don't need a lot of political background, just hints, as we got in the OT. Napoleon was an artillery officer who fought and won some impressive battles in Italy, returned to Paris as a great war hero at just the right time, and was placed into power by others. He eventually took more and more power and declared himself emperor. His Continental System was a type of forerunner to 20th century socialism.

Palpatine could be some mid-level type of nobleman/warrior( a la the Prussion army officers who came from the ranks of the nobilty). He wins some important battles in the Clone Wars and returns to Coruscant to be put into power by others, who intend to manipulate him to their own ends, but to their surprise, he takes control and cannpt be manipulated. Maybe he foresaw all of this happening due to his dark side force skills.

Lastly, I see the Clone Wars differently than most. I always thouight they alluded to the Opium Wars, in which Britain fought against the Chinese in order to spread the opium trade into China, where it was illegal. I see the Republic, showing its moral decay, fighting against systems that have outlawed cloning in order to spread the clone trade.

And since I need to explain how the Jedi fit into the picture, I have to explain my view of the Jedi. Next post.