Gandalf for President?

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Mansun

I can see why the confusion started out, but I could not imagine anyone adovcating a vote for Saruman on his record, and amongst other excellent candidates. Gandalf, afterall, was the Steward of Middle Earth, and an astonishingly good one, using ambition with a conscience.

Who would you vote for, Nerwen? I would think it a toss of the coin between Gandalf the White, and Elrond. Sauron and Saruman lose out due to ultimately delivering poor results in the LOTR. In pure political terms though, Sauron probably comes up top.

If all I had was "public knowledge" on which to base a vote, I'd probably be voting Saruman in the Middle-earth elections.

Now, I realise we all know, after the fact what a sleaze-ball he is... but let's pretend we know as much as Gandalf himself did--right before he got locked up.

Saruman:

-was trusted by Manwë to lead the Istari
-was trusted by the Stewards, good Middle-earth's superpower, to govern Orthanc.
-helped build the White Council, and won its leadership.
-Actually led the White Council to victory over Sauron, kicking him out of Mirkwood.

Never mind that he is clearly marked as the most naturally gifted orator in Middle-earth, though by the time we show up in the pages of the Lord of the Rings, he's stopped talking about anything we should listen to.

So, if you're asking who, as an insider who knows what everyone in Middle-earth is like... I'd say Aragorn.

But if you're asking about who Joe Rohirrim on the streets knows... Saruman has a compelling case.