I’m not sure why people keep saying there were no politics in the OT. Sure it wasn’t overbearing like in the prequels, but Leia and Vader had a political exchange in the opening scene, and Tarkin and Togge briefly discussed politics on the Death Star. It was just enough, the bare minimum amount of exposition to convey the political atmosphere of the world of the story.
No has said that there was “no politics” in the OT, but rather that there was very little of it. I mean I never paid any attention to Tarkin’s comment about the Imperial Senate until I was 20 years old, and I’ve been watching SW since I was 7. Most people don’t really care. Most people want to be able to identify with the characters and to be able to enjoy the ride. Geeks like us care about these details, but we’re so used to the OT that we tend to forget just how little there is in the actual films. TFA did a very similar thing. It’s there is you pay attention, but it’s not in focus because it’s not important. Also, you can’t blame Abrams and Disney for being paranoid about stepping into PT territory. Remember, the backstory in the OT has had nearly 40 years to sink into our public conscious, TFA on the other hand has only been available to us for roughly a week.