That’s probably where I read this. I was going to say it was from Miss Manners, but I couldn’t recall exactly. I’m sure I read it recently. Good work! I realized last night that Hillary would and should be Senator Clinton because there’s a current Secretary of State, which isn’t Hillary. There’s always a Secretary of State and only one person holds the job at a time, so all during the debates the media were incorrect to call her “Secretary Clinton”. Journalists usually will call the president by his title the first time mentioned and then revert to Mr. (or Mrs.), but some of them just use the last name after first pointing out the person’s title and first name one time.
I think Abraham Lincoln is sufficient, also, although with the lack of American history being taught in schools, maybe we should never presume people know who he is and that he was a president. Sad.
I think you’re on thin ice with the “Secretary” thing.
Notice, she is addressed as “Secretary” Clinton, but NOT “Secretary of State” Clinton. I.e., she is called by the “rank” she attained, but not by the full title, because the actual office is now occupied by another person.
To put it another way, she is “Secretary Clinton,” but she is “former Secretary of State Clinton.”