In the novel, Vito says, "A man has but one destiny." Was Michael destined to be a criminal?
I think that Michael was destined to be a leader. That's a very perilous position in this story, because he's so close to this crime family that's inherently unstable - anything that knocks it out of balance potentially will suck him in and move him to the top. I think that what Vito's trying to do is combine Sonny and Tom into a team that would provide that leadership that otherwise could only be provided by Michael alone.
He says his father "is no different than any other powerful man with responsibility for others"; and when Kay replies that senators and governors don't have people killed, he answers: "Now who's being naïve?"
He not only wants to be the top crime boss, he wants to consider himself "legitimate," and in the same league as senators, governors and other "legitimate" people simply because he thinks he isn't doing anything different from what they do. He thinks he's entitled to be considered legitimate.
Yes. And if we extend into the book, there are also several places where Michael draws comparisons between the mob war and his military experiences. It could be that enlisting in the Marines, far from being a rejection of the Family, was just an alternative form of leadership training.
