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Being the idealist that I am, I have to say that Gandalf would not have taken the Ring. He had the chance to several times, and it would have been so simple. "Here Frodo, I'll take care of that for you." But he didn't. He knew that it would corrupt him. He also knew, I think, that there are some things worse than death. On a similar point to acting for the sake of the survival of Middle Earth, Gandalf did what he could to ensure the survival of everybody that he was close to, the Fellowship not in the least. But he did not interfere. Frodo's path was ridiculously dangerous. His chances of success were not high, but Gandalf stepped in with his talk about how Frodo could take comfort that perhaps he was meant to have the Ring. Gandalf's role was as the advice-giver. He provided what he could, gave the best advice that he could, but when it came down to the last, it was in the hands of mortals in which fate rested. He knew this, and I don't think that he would have decided any differently. Not even if he alone could take out Sauron. It was not his place. He wasn't meant to.
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