I could understand if maybe Ric mentioned the chancellor more than a few seconds before he's introduced by Palpatine. But his line is obviously just added to assist the clueless audience who couldn't pick up on the "May I introduce Supreme Chancellor Valorum" just a few seconds into the scene.
Knowing who he is ahead of time doesn't change anything, except make us feel a little dumber when Ric starts narrating. We don't need a narrator to explain something that the characters are JUST about to explain. It's silly, and that's how it comes across in the original film.
Imagine if a random Rebel trooper said "There's Darth Vader boarding our ship!" when Darth Vader walked into the blockade runner in ANH. Sure, it'd help us know who the guy in black was... But in reality... we don't learn who Darth Vader is until seven minutes into the movie. And nobody's ever complained about that.

Though, I do agree - after watching it a bit - that the landing sequence might seem a little dragged out. Especially the over-the-shoulder cockpit shot, which isn't too visually interesting. Might mess with that to improve the flow.