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What hardly anyone points out is that 1984 was written in 1948, published in 1949. Orwell was talking about 1948, not the future, as is "most science fiction". The TV had been invented, they had been bugging everyone for decades, the soviet and western press were doing then what they do now, etc. etc.
Double think - the reverse - 1948 = 1984
Yes, the tv had been invented but not as a means of spying on someone, and remember, the tv can be shut off(you have an option as opposed to telescreens) and while the soviet and western presses have been guilty of such things, they cannot fully destroy the past. As for the last comment, you are completely right, Orwell wrote it in 1948 and in the book he reflected much of what was already happening but with a warning of extreme totalitarianism, something not yet existant.
Yes. It also is a good way to pick an arbitray future year.
Would people have published his book if the title was 1984 and he was writing about "current" political leaders?
1984 was written between 1945 and 1948. The preface to the first edition is dated 1946. I didn't check yet, but is it available on this site?