The Stranger being Gandalf also helps to explain his fondness for the Hobbits
Saruman also has connections to the Hobbits. He traded for their tobacco and even went to the Shire when banished. Of course by then he was mad with power so he took it over and ruined it, but it seemed like at one time he liked Hobbits. It would have tied back to the questioning on whether he was a friend or a threat to them.
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris