So, what exactly got Palpatine to stay in office so long? First of all, how often were elections held? In Revenge of the Sith, 3 years after Palpatine is allotted "emergency powers," Obi-Wan refers to him as a Chancellor who has stayed in office long after his term should have expired.

So, I have to wonder. Was he ever reelected? If he were, who was the opposition? Would that not have been a very effective step towards the early Rebel Alliance? In addition, what sort of platforms do you use against a guy like that? "Well, okay, sure, he's keeping us safe. Not a bad guy if you overlook the fascism and lack of a color sense. I'm probably not as cunning, but at least I don't believe in nepotism and I've used moisturizer in the last decade!"

You have to wonder just how effective Palpatine's governmental policies were. We see the ineffectuality of the democratic process at some point in The Phantom Menace and Palpatine continually underscores that both in that film and Attack of the Clones. I don't know if Anakin's conversation about what he would do with politics is naivete or a young man who thinks that that kind of Imperialistic control is healthy.

On the whole, what would his approval ratings be like? How were people reacting to the fact that the Separatists were on a runaway train to independence? I'd be interested to see if there are parallels to the American Revolution or Civil War. Certainly, an indicator might be the Jedi view that Dooku is a "political idealist, not a murderer." Could the same be said in many cases for the Chancellor who "reluctantly" accepted absolute power and turned it into unlimited power by the war's end?