Gandalf vs. Sauron

[obloquy]

I contend that this means he was merely enhanced in relation to his state while not wearing the Ring, not his original innate power. From my post above, the following is relevant:

He may be weakened to a degree by not having the Ring on his hand, but he never exceeds his original potential. My argument is that Sauron and Olorin (Gandalf) were beings of equal power in their beginnings, and therefore Gandalf's potency was equal to that of Sauron with his Ring.