[xzins]

THAT mistake I’ll forgive him.

[Arthur McGowan]

Safire wrote at least one column in which he talked about the quandary Reagan was in at the start of his SOTU speech. Do you call the Vice President “Mr. President,” which is correct, but risk having the audience think you’re getting senile? Or do you cater to the general public’s ignorance, and use the wrong title?

IIRC, Reagan always called Bush “Mr. President.”