Interesting.
I'd always assumed that it was more heavilly based on ancient Roman history - a senate being overpowered by an emperor.
I cna see the Nixon parallels, and the Bush issues as being "hot" for the liberal artistic establishment of California, but I think that it would be hard to find any society that couldn't point to a period in history where traditional freedoms of citizens were eroded in the interest of "national security" in a way that undermined personal liberties and enhanced despotism.
That said, I'd pay to see Newt Gingritch vs. Hillary Clinton with Lightsabers...
