As I was in that state between wakefulness and sleep, a weird thought came to me. Here in America we're faced with two presidential candidates, neither of whom are very good choices. It's not just their age, but it's many factors. As I was thinking about this, I suddenly realized that we're actually facing an election between Gandalf and Saruman.
On the one hand, you have Gandalf. He seems like a decent fellow, albeit a bit odd. However, as you get to know him, you realize that he's a bit forgetful and unobservant...well maybe more than a bit. Sure he never realized that the Ring of Power had been in the Shire all these years. Sure he forgets the password to enter the Mines of Moria, and then can't find his way through the Mines very well. And never mind that when he's resurrected, he can't remember his name, but he seems like a decent guy, and his personality wants to make you follow him, although a nagging voice in the back of your head tells you that he's leading you to your death...
Then you have Saruman, an old man that has only power on his mind. He will do whatever he has to, and sacrifice anyone and anything that he has to in order to gain power for himself. In his quest for power, he creates the Uruk-hai, a group that is so dedicated to him that the only thing they care about is increasing the power of Saruman, no matter what that takes. Saruman will burn Middle Earth to the ground if he has to in his insane quest for power and self-glory.
These seem to be the two candidates that we're faced with, and neither is exactly appealing. But if we want to stretch the metaphor even further, we have to remember that Middle Earth was actually saved by the "little guys," literally. Maybe, We the People, the voters are the hobbits, and we're the ones that can actually save our nation.
Of course, if we want to stretch the metaphor even further, we have to begin to wonder, where is Sauron? Maybe Russia, maybe China, maybe...
