Quit choking. Anybody who once held elective office is referred to as ‘The Honorable’.
Since we all seem to be in a state of disagreement on this issue, maybe Unca Cecil will be kind enough to pop in and settle the debate once and for all.
At the Jimmy Carter Library, they have this page which says:
And at the Gerald R Ford Library, they have this page which says:
So here we have two former Presidents who have allowed themselves to referenced by the title President on web pages that they control.
The New York Public Library Desk Reference, p. 325, backs up Miss Manners completely.
And, here’s a quote from Lyndon Johnson’s daily diary:
“President Johnson began Sunday, February 18, 1968, aboard the aircraft carrier, USS CONSTELLATION, where he had spent the night. …[H]e met with former President, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and briefed him on Vietnam. After lunch with General Eisenhower, Johnson and Eisenhower played golf.” (my bolding–SK)
Just a guess, but Ike may very well have been the last former President to adhere to this convention.
I call them all “Bubba”.
Shouldn’t that be “Mr Bubba?”
Probably, but that is less satisfying. Will also change eventually.
[hijack]
When a woman becomes president, how will we address her? Mrs. President or Madame President? Or Mrs. Jarbaby? 
[/hijack]
Madame President. This is similar to the address used for female ministers (Thatcher was “Madame Prime Minister”) and cabinet members (Madeline Allbright was “Madame Secretary”).
It bugs me that I can’t find a reliable cite on the web to back up any of the answers provided so far. I have a vague memory that you should first refer to a former President as “former President So&So”; in subsequent references you can drop the “former.”
When talking about him, you say ‘former President’, when talking to him, you say “Mr. President”.
Sorry for a possible hijack. But how about Secretary of State Powell preferring “General Powell” instead of “Secretary Powell”
Miss Manners is never wrong. Just because the correct rule is not followed, even if it’s former presidents who are not following it, doesn’t mean that the rule does not exist. The reason it is incorrect to refer to someone who is not the president as “Mr. President” is that “President of the United States” is a title to which no one but the current President of the United States is entitled.
DaveW
[Handy, the Human Ton’s puppet and not the SDMB poster] Read a book! [/Handy, the Human Ton’s puppet and not the SDMB poster]
TVtime
He is incorrect. “President” is not a military title, at least not in the United States. “Commander in Chief” is not an official title anyway, but is instead simply a description of one of the powers held by the person who is currently “President of the United States of America.”
mapsmith
He is at this time not properly referred to as “General Powell.” His correct honorific is “Secretary.” He is Secretary Powell or Mister Secretary. When he steps down as Secretary of State, he may then be properly referred to as “General Powell” if he wishes, although I will bet dollars to donuts that he will be referred to as “former Secretary of State Powell” forever.
I thought you all might like an update to this question. I submitted it to the Clinton Library, www.clintonpresidency.org . My question was long and probably not as clever as I thought it was when I wrote it, but basically I asked which term of address Mr./Governor/former President/President Clinton preferred. I got back this wonderful two-word response:
So there, I think, is the closest thing to a definitive answer I’m going to get. I’d like to think that the brevity of the answer stems directly from The Honorable Bill Clinton himself, but I cannot confirm that and I’m not going to pester anyone any further to find out.
George Marshall was always called “General” and he was Secretary of State. But I think I wrote that a few weeks ago.
Where is that scroll key?
I don’t buy into this reverence for Miss Manners, latecoming tyro that she is. Emily Post or Amy Vanderbilt still rule my world of etiquette, dude.
A pattern emerges: both George C. Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower were five-star generals–a rank that no longer exists, I believe. So their experiences might not apply to Powell?
(Yes, we have a regulation for every damn thing).
By military regulation, former officials are referred to by their highest former title except when the person has expressed a desire to be addressed otherwise. Hence, Ford is “President Gerald Ford” and Clinton is “The Honorable William Clinton.”
Also, generals and admirals are never actually “former” generals and admirals unless they were demoted to a lower rank – they remain on the rolls until death, even if they hold a civilian position. Marshall and Eisenhower probably just figured, Hell, any idiot can be President or Secretary of State – we earned our stars. Plus who was going to say, “I am certainly NOT going to call you ‘General’!”?
Explain this, Miss Manners – why is there only one President of the United States at a time, but there can be several governors of Georgia, Arkansas, or California at a time?
Here’s what the government says. Scroll all the way to the bottom and you’ll find that the third person is The Honorable and the direct address is Mr. President.