When the novice U.S. Senator Barack Obama was first testing the waters of New Hampshire for a potential presidential campaign, I challenged his reliance on the first person in his speech to New Hampshiremen celebrating the firing of a Republican incumbent and the election of a Democratic woman to Congress. I did that not because we had all been taught (by the nuns) to be modest and avoid being show-offs, but because I wanted to emphasize then, as I still do now, that elections are a voter action and "I, Obama" was not going to go very far. And, as we are all aware, the first person singular was mostly replaced in his speeches by the plural. Not to mention that "Yes, we can," became a most potent chant.
Perhaps a reminder is in order:
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The 'it' man.
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