[Saxony Tarn]

This has been quite insightful, and i dare say the "inside info" here has validated a few of my hypotheses (i expect i'll see it emerge as a central theme in a fanfic) however, i'd promised myself i'd stay out of this thread as it appeared i'd be the lone voice of even tongue-in-cheek dissent.

Having now confessed to my sympathy for the Devil, let me take a spin at being his Advocate...

A few good reasons for laying my sword at the feet of King Boromir:

1) From carrying around all those guilt trips and great expectations from some 25K-odd people counting on him to deliver their future (assuming Aragorn didn't show up) the man is definately motivated. No slacker loafing around and embezzling from the treasury while the public of Gondor literally has to eat stone for breakfast. i would expect him to be so much of a hands-on sovereign that he'd have to be ordered to take a holiday.

2) On the campaign platform: Infrastructure growth, border security, economic revitalization, new flowering of national spirit, resettling of Ithilien, conquest of Mordor...

3) Despite having no qualms about blowing his own horn, he's been in the soldier biz long enough to understand teamwork, prudent resource deployment, and most importantly, DELEGATION. (i realize that i am giving him credit for a minimum amount of intelligence and common sense, without which he likely would not have survived to be able to take part in the story) The catch here would be to whom he delegates what. Now if we assume that Denethor loaded so many expectations on him in assumption that he'd someday be taking over, and bring in the comparison with King Eärnur from the back of the book appendices, it's not too much of a leap of logic for me to infer that Bor' might have been counting on recruiting Far' for a vice-president-like backup (a sort of, my learned, diplomatic younger brother playing Steward Mardil to my King Eärnur, if you will) Despite whatever other control issues he may have had, i can't see him being foolish enough to cut his brother out of the picture (especially if, at Osgiliath & others, we can assume that they've conducted field ops as a team before) On the issue of him making a good second-in-command -- this guy has been groomed for years to be top dog and by now sees second place as the first loser. However, as long as he's backed by a support staff whose advice he can trust, i would say that the governed could to a great extent trust him. As for taking cues from Aragorn, well, unless Tolkein constructed his military vastly different from ours, i should expect Bor' started at the bottom rank of officers and had to earn his way up (looking at Denethor, i'd expect him to MAKE the young man work his way up) He'd understand and respect pecking order, as in, "Gandalf was party leader, and I am here to keep Gondor's hand in, then Gandalf fell off the bridge after telling Aragorn to lead, so therefore I will work with Aragorn until such time as things change"...

4) and last but not least, we all know what stands behind just about every successful man. Unlike the other great leader candidates in this saga, he's not yet spoken for. Okay, so my Middle-Earth avatar has ulterior motives -- but given how nonexistent his relationship with his delicate mother was, Bor' would probably respect an ambitious consort (see advisors whom he can or can't trust above) -- or see her as a Sword of Damocles-like check to keep him in balance (and the populace of Gondor entertained) Not to mention, making sure HIS children didn't turn out so messed up all because their father spent too much time looking in his crystal ball and got seduced by the Dark Side.

Hey -- it's good to be the Queen!

s.t.

|_|) <-- it comes in pints, and this one's for you!