This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis, and is published in partnership with the Substack newsletter Rhapsody.
I’m pretty sure Cawthorn would never have been worth that many words, but good read!
“They’re handed a wand. And you as the viewer, you don’t exactly know what they can do with that wand, but you know it holds incredible power."
I’m starting to think maybe there was cocaine.
“I knew Gandalf. Gandalf was a friend of mine and you are no Gandalf.”
“He’ll be remembered for a number of things, especially alleging that other politicians invited him to a cocaine-fueled orgy.”
Well, that and his naked, chia-pet ass humping his own cousin’s face in that leaked hotel-room video.
The biggest problem I have with Gandalf is that, when he tried using the force against Voldemort, he allowed his light saber to burn out. He would have been toast had the Hulk not saved him with his hammer.
For such a wise wizard, I’d call that poor planning.
Someone should a mashup of him humping his cousin’s face and beating that rotten tree.
Cawthorn, Gandalf. Two words I never expected to see on the same page, let alone same sentence. But apparently he drew the comparison himself. Mercifully, up til now I did not know of that.
Delusions of grandeur.
An obvious approach to a functioning society where infrastructure, health, and social needs are available to all is that of Sweden and Norway. It helps for a government to have gobs of money (oil resources owned by government), unlike the US where resources are controlled by the wealthy.
Every Grima imagines being a Gandalf (or even just a Saruman).
But grima was a useful tool for Saruman, then the author. Madcaw’s more of a caliban.
I’d say Cawthorne is more of a Bender Rodriguez.
Wisdom
Very interesting diagram of ‘wisdom’. Much to explore! Not touched upon directly but intriguing is the presence of wisdom in art. In poetry, and in the nondiscursive forms like music, painting and sculpture. If Lord of the Rings is or isn’t art - I don’t know - it is like much good fiction, a comfortable place to explore the subject.
More likely delusions of adequacy.
In the GrimDark future, where Gandalf allows Darth Vader to conquer Westeros from the bridge of the Enterprise, many question the wisdom of the Hogwart’s headmaster. 
Unfair to Caliban.
Madcaw just pawn in game of life.
Mongo clearly had more capacity for self-reflection.