Four years ago it dawned on me that the Clone Wars were going to take their cue from World War I, in terms of how the desperation/devastation would lead the Germans to rally behind Adolf Hitler. Apparently that's holding up well, 'cuz the way things are shaping up Palpatine is going to become Emperor-for-life with a gleeful rubber-stamp of approval from the public.
(BTW, I'll be at Celebration II later next week with the rest of TheForce.net staff. Looking forward to meeting any fellow Freepers who can stop by :-)
Lucas isn't the most subtle guy in the world and the Nazi angle was fairly obvious from ANH. He's included some elements from ancient Rome as well (chariot races, slavery and I think there's something akin to a gladiator fight in this one). I enjoy historical references in sci-fi, but I'm not at all looking to Lucas for historical or political insight -- even if he were a political ally.