Gandalf for President?

Originally Posted by Formendacil

Except...

I'm going to have to harp on about the distinction I hinted at in my last post between "General" and "President".

Both are leaders.

But there are some radical distinctions between the two.

A general leads in battle. He* has his superiors, but he commands from an authoritative position. A president leads from an office. His authority is below no one's, but he cannot command in the same unilateral manner--in other words, he must be a politician.

Gandalf, I reiterate, does not strike me as a president. His leadership is very much, when he assumes it, unilateral and focused on a particular goal (a military campaign, even). He does not have a long-term authoritative mandate.

And as for "Steward of Middle-earth"... presented as such this is almost uncanonical, and even though Gandalf tells Denethor that he is a steward too, I think it's very clear that he means it in the sense of a Caretaker, which is his entire point, because there's a huge difference between the role of a caretaker and the role of a "president", which is precisely how Denethor saw his office.

Actually... now that I mention it... Denethor might get my vote. Sorry, Saruman.


*"He" is used only because Gandalf is a "he" and for convenience. It is fully acknowledged that the offices of general or president need not be masculine only.

Gandalf the White, as Steward of Middle Earth (a slightly flattering but truthful generalisation), may not have been officially installed as a King or ruler, but that does not mean he could not do it to a superior level to others such as Denethor and Theoden, who in many ways could not govern themselves or their countries without much counsel on policy making.