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Part of the difficulty is that the Cartesian argument depends on consciousness being completely present to itself. This leads to, among other problems, a problem reconciling internal representation with an external world. If the mind is completely present to itself, it is divorced from the world. If instead we put the mind in the world, such that it perceives things (and not just its representations of those things), the mind cannot be completely present to itself. The musings of Derrida only serve to underline this point. But if the mind is not completely present to itself, the cogito only proves that there is thought, since it cannot be shown for any instance that a given thought is really my thought.
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"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."
"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
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