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This ring is pure evil. It could not have been used for good.Gandalf says so himself in the movie
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In Tolkien's Letter #246 (good old Letter 246! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ), he addresses briefly the idea of Gandalf as Ring Lord, saying that he would have been
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...far worse than Sauron. He would have remained 'righteous', but self-righteous. He would have continued to rule and order things for 'good', and the benefit of his subjects according to his wisdom (which was and would have remained great).
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In the margin, Tolkien writes in this unfinished draft:
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'Thus while Sauron multiplied [illegible word] evil, he left "good" clearly distinguishable from it. Gandalf would have made good detestable and seem evil.'
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So, yes, it would have been a very bad thing for Gandalf to be exposed to the Ring for a long time and unthinkable if he should be caught out at the Sammath Naur bearing it!
Of all the choices, I'd have to say
Kalimac's idea of Merry is the soundest one in my opinion. He has the best chance of the remaining Fellowship to keep a level head about both the Ring and the practicalities of the journey itself. In fact, he knew of the Ring for years and never told anyone! (Of course he didn't know what it was, but he knew how to keep a secret! Good old Merry!)
Cheers!
Lyta