[dfc]

The link you posted does not "speak for itself." Can you provide some context for why you posted a link to the least authoratative reference site on the internet? Even if it was the OED I'm not sure I would understand your point.

[webfuel]

> David Pogue can speak for himself

Translation: "I do not agree with David Pogue"

The phrase "speak for" is an idiom and is not meant to be taken literally.

[dfc]

So your link was for the special usage note to the last entry on the page that begins with "sometimes"? Furthermore I have never seen this idiom used when it is preceded by "can."

[NoPiece]

From the OED:

"speak for yourself: expressing a desire to dissociate oneself from what another has just said or the assumptions behind it."

[dfc]

That looks like a suprisingly terse entry from the oed. I do not think io have eveer seen such a short entry from the oed. How much did you edit and leave out?

How many people put "can" in front of the idiom?

[NoPiece]

In the OED entry for the verb "speak," there is a sub entry for "to speak for." About half of that is devoted to "speak for yourself," which is what I quoted. It is followed by the typical list of examples.

There was a Simpsons reincarnation joke that used the phrase:

Sideshow Mel: You only live once! Apu: Hey, speak for yourself!

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Simpsons/Season_9#Miracle_o...

[dfc]

How many of the example entries are preceded by "can?"