Would it not be seen as absurd if a retired executive of a company continued to be referred to by his or her title?  Having said that, did you ever wonder why politicians continue to be addressed with a title they no longer hold? For example, Newt Gingrich has not been Speaker of the House since 1999 but the media continues to refer to him as Speaker Gingrich.  In the current GOP crop we have “Governor” Romney and “Congressman” Santorum titles that neither currently holds.  At least Ron Paul is still a sitting congressman.  This bias is not a partisan issue as we see the same phenomenon with Democrats.  Now I understand a former President of the United States being referred to as “President” forever but beyond that I find the practice rather bizarre.  But as I think about it, I guess it fits with the other phenomenon – that is how much smarter our elected representative see themselves the day after we elect them – they know better what we want than we do.  Seen in that light, I suspect that the continued exalted titling makes sense.