Who was the most foolish ruler of all?

[Lady_Galadriel]

this is an extremly wonderful topic!

[QUOTE=Anguirel]

But surely Sauron takes the biscuit. I mean-putting his power into a ring? That's just comical...
QUOTE]
i agree... who would put his power into a ring that would eventually fall into the wrong hands and destroy middle earth as we know it?! thats just nuts!

[yavanna II]

I'd like to agree for Ar-Pharazon... a really stupid git who took an evil Maia home with him... hasn't he got the wits to think about how cunning Sauron can be, I mean, he's just too proud... and he really isn't the heir, it was his cousin/wife Miriel...

Also I'd like to point out that Tar Palantir did the very mistake of not securing the kingdom to his daughter... though he really isn't stupid, he just overlooked the fact that his brother and his nephew wanted to rebel against the Valar...

[Tuor of Gondolin]

I've got to go with Tuor's daddy-in-law, Turgon. He's known for a long time Gondolin can't be stayed in forever and he gets as clear a warning as
seems possible that it's time to say "Hasta la vista, , baby" , but then
(to quote Professor Harold Hill) "He dillies and he dallies."

[Lhunardawen]

Originally Posted by Anguirel

But surely Sauron takes the biscuit. I mean-putting his power into a ring? That's just comical...

Darn this ten-reps-in-between rule...

And not considering all the possibilities of your foes defeating you is a bad way to go, too.

[alatar]

Have to put Manwë on the list.

Can never see Melkor for who he really is. Just how many times does Melkor have to destroy Aman/most of Arda/etc for Manwë to think, "ya know, this guy might not have good intentions...hmmm."

Thinks it's a great idea to bring the elves to Aman for "safekeeping." That's funny, as it never was safe before nor afterwards. This, of course, leads to all sorts of other problems.

Thankfully, he does show a little wisdom and doesn't bring Men to Aman. But sets up the Edain on Numenor, and, showing a deep understanding of human psychology, tells them that there is a place that they shall not go. There's nothing like a Ban to get Man curious. So when Man does break this law, what does he do? Calls on someone else to fix it.

Luckily, as time passes, Manwë takes less and less of an active role and ME benefits from his choice of Istari, though the overall failure rate of that venture was 80%.

If it weren't for sending eagles and Gandalf, not sure what good Manwë has done.

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by alatar

That's funny, as it never was safe before nor afterwards.

In what sense wasn't it safe?

Can never see Melkor for who he really is.

I presume you are reffering to his release of Melkor:

Originally Posted by Osanwe kenta

The weakest and most imprudent of all the actions of Manwe, as it seems to many, was the release of Melkor from captivity. From this came the greatest loss and harm: the death of the Trees, and the exile and the anguish of the Noldor. Yet through this suffering there came also, as maybe in no other way could it have come, the victory of the Elder Days: the downfall of Angband and the last overthrow of Melkor.

Who then can say with assurance that if Melkor had been held in bond less evil would have followed? Even in his diminishment the power of Melkor is beyond our calculation. Yet some ruinous outburst of his despair is not the worst that might have befallen. The release was according to the promise of Manwe. If Manwe had broken this promise for his own purposes, even though still intending "good", he would have taken a step upon the paths of Melkor.

This, of course, leads to all sorts of other problems.

Originally Posted by Notes on motives in the Silmarillion, iii, Myths Transformed, HoME X

But, if we dare to attempt to enter the mind of the Elder King, assigning motives and finding faults, there are things to remember before we deliver a judgement. Manwe was the spirit of greatest wisdom and prudence in Arda. He is represented as having had the greatest knowledge of the Music, as a whole, possessed by any one finite mind; and he alone of all persons or minds in that time is represented as having the power of direct recourse to and communication with Eru. He must have grasped with great clarity what even we may perceive dimly: that it was the essential mode of the process of 'history' in Arda that evil should constantly arise, and that out of it new good should constantly come. One especial aspect of this is the strange way in which the evils of the Marrer, or his inheritors, are turned into weapons against evil. If we consider the situation after the escape of Morgoth and the reestablishment of his abode in Middle-earth, we shall see that the heroic Noldor were the best possible weapon with which to keep Morgoth at bay, virtually besieged, and at any rate fully occupied, on the northern fringe of Middle-earth, without provoking him to a frenzy of nihilistic destruction. And in the meanwhile, Men, or the best elements in Mankind, shaking off his shadow, came into contact with a people who had actually seen and experienced the Blessed Realm.

In their association with the warring Eldar Men were raised to their fullest achievable stature, and by the two marriages the transference to them, or infusion into Mankind, of the noblest Elf-strain was accomplished, in readiness for the still distant, but inevitably approaching, days when the Elves would 'fade'.

As we can see, it was not a zero-sum game.

There's nothing like a Ban to get Man curious.
...
Calls on someone else to fix it.

What better alternatives do you see?

If it weren't for sending eagles and Gandalf, not sure what good Manwë has done.

He is called the "chief instrument of the second theme that Iluvatar had raised against the discord of Melkor", cf. Ainulindale. I certainly doubt it was a gratuitous title. He is the main organiser of the resistance against Melkor, he calls his brethren to the fight, he transmits Eru's will to the others (as the only one capable to directly appeal to Him). According to Osanwe-kenta, "Manwe was bound by the commands and injunctions of Eru, and would do this or abstain from that in accordance with them, always."

[The Sixth Wizard]

Originally Posted by Anguirel

But surely Sauron takes the biscuit. I mean-putting his power into a ring? That's just comical...

Oh really? Sauron wanted to have a greater control over Middle-Earth by becoming more attached to Arda, less of a spirit. How better to do that than tie your spirit down to an anchor, preferably metal, as it came from deep underneath the earth? And so now we need an anchor so close to Sauron, so fixated to him that no-one imaginable could EVER take it away.

A ring! How is anyone ever going to get a ring on the Dark Lord's finger off of him? Well, the Numenoreans. And Sauron had already killed off Numenor by sending them to make war to the Valar. If it wasn't for Eru saving the Faithful, the plan would be flawless! No-one would ever have the might to challenge him again! Mwahaha! hehe hee *cough* *cough* . . .

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Raynor

In what sense wasn't it safe?

How many elves died in 'heaven?' Surely not as many as in Middle earth, but the land without stain surely had to be steam-cleaned more than a few times.

What better alternatives do you see?

I've struggled with this question. Eru constructed men thus, and so you'd think that he'd have a better plan to hand to Manwe regarding the Ban. And note that this was somewhat in reference to the Garden of Eden Genesis account in the Christian Bible.

We're curious folk, and not knowing something gets our imaginations, then feet, in motion. The best way to keep my kids out of something is to hide it in plain site. Telling them not to go into a closet is a surefire way of getting them to open the door.

He is called the "chief instrument of the second theme that Iluvatar had raised against the discord of Melkor", cf. Ainulindale. I certainly doubt it was a gratuitous title. He is the main organiser of the resistance against Melkor, he calls his brethren to the fight, he transmits Eru's will to the others (as the only one capable to directly appeal to Him). According to Osanwe-kenta, "Manwe was bound by the commands and injunctions of Eru, and would do this or abstain from that in accordance with them, always."

Maybe it's our definitions of 'leader.' Manwe, to me, is passive. As you say, he is the Arda conduit of Eru, and not, seemingly, off a leash. He's reactive - something happens then he takes action. It's notable that he sits on his throne.

And note that Tulkas calls his brethren to fight Melkor as well.