Gandalf, blood of hobbits on his hands?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Elmo

He could easily say it wasn't his problem anymore but Saruman was a maia and belonged to the same order as Gandalf. I say it was his problem to fix. He could have prevented the deaths of all the hobbits in that battle.

Gandalf's purpose was not to right all the evils of the world, but to do what he could to bring about Sauron's defeat. He was sent with that sole task before him, and once that was accomplished his time of action in ME was over.
Being of the same order as Saruman didn't mean the responsibility for vanquishing him lay with Gandalf. Gandalf's errand was finished: he knew the Hobbits were capable of dealing with the situation in the Shire themselves, but I don't believe he either would have or could have intervened even if the Hobbits had appeared to be failing.