January 6, 2019
As a card-carrying member of Nitpickers Anonymous, I was
pleased to see that, 100 years ago, the Post-Dispatch correctly referred to
Teddy Roosevelt as Col. Theodore Roosevelt when writing about his death.
They did not refer to him as President Roosevelt, the way modern
media refer to former presidents.
Former presidents should not be referred to as President
So-and-So (unless one is referencing the president’s time in office), nor
should they be addressed as Mr. President. They should be referred to by the
highest title or position they held before becoming president, e.g. Governor
Clinton; Ambassador Bush.
Maybe the media will remember that someday, and revert to
proper usage.
No comments:
Post a Comment