Yes I Can - Stanley Fish Blog - NYTimes.com
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No doubt this pattern of pronouns reflects a reality. By all the evidence we have, the guy’s completely in charge, making decisions, giving instructions, deploying resources, assigning tasks — a combination point guard, quarterback and clean-up hitter. And if he gets results, as he seems to be doing, that’s O.K.
But it may not be O.K., as a matter of rhetoric and politics, to advertise it. An occasional passive construction to soften the claim of agency would be a good idea (even though the grammar books warn against it). It’s one thing to be calling the tune; it’s another to proclaim it in every sentence. Someone is going to say, “Am I the only one who thinks that Obama likes the sound of his own voice?” (Sea Urchin, here).
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