Turns out you can teach an old cat new tricks. We're making an important note in our etiquette book for future reference.
Until this weekend, we honestly thought that once a person was President, he (or someday, it is to be hoped, she) would be addressed as such even after leaving office. So on the occasions we've had to be with him, we've always called Jimmy Carter "Mr. President" to his face, even though he left the White House more than 40 years ago.
As Casey Stengel said, you could look it up. So we did, and found a Miss Manners column that laid down the law. America only has one President at a time, she said, so you address a former POTUS as "Honorific/Last Name" — that is, Mr. Carter, Mr. Clinton, Mr. Smirky, Mr. Obama, Mr. Traitor Insurrectionist. Color us surprised!
Which means that the tweeps who were dragging Kristen Welker for calling Trump "Mr. President" in her detestable Meet the Press debut were right. (Bet he made it a condition of granting the interview.) It's another reason the whole thing makes us sick. We cats hack up multiple hairballs, and we HISS.
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