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Originally Posted by the phantom
Remember, at first Sauron thought he was talking to Saruman.
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Yeah but he did then see that it was a Hobbit. (And when you pick up the phone you
always know exactly who is on the other end of the line I suppose... And when your call display tells you that someone is calling you from your mother's phone, you pick it up and say "To whom am I speaking?" instead of "Hi Mom!") At which point -- knowing, as he does, that a Hobbit (Frodo) is bearing the Ring -- which do you think is the most likely thing to go through Sauron's mind:
1) "Hmmmm, a hobbit. I can't quite make out which one it may be. Perhaps its the Ringbearer. Perhaps it isn't. Oh well, never mind about that now, I'll send a Nazgul to fetch it and look into this later."
or
2) "Hey, a hobbit? Is it the Ringbearing one or not? Hmmmmmm....a bit taller than the one Witchie told me about....not quite so red in the cheeks....younger than Baggins.....no sign of the Ring on his finger or around his neck.....no sense of Ringiness here......nope, it's not Frodo Baggins. But he sure looks like a dainty fellow who could give me some good intel!"
Now I imagine someone is going to argue that the Palantir is somehow not a reliable source of information -- that it was impossible for Sauron to see clearly enough that he could differentiate between Pippin and Frodo. Tosh! In the other instances we have recorded of its use, it was a reliable source of information -- the only time it seems to obscure is when Sauron perverts or dominates it (like with Denethor).