president & First Lady

[Mike Calvert]

According to the Associated Press Stylebook, "first lady" should be down
because it isn't a formal title.

You say "President" vs. "president" has been discussed on ADS-L before;
presumably you then know that AP also dictates that "president" be down
unless used in front of a specific person's name as a formal title,
e.g., "President Bill Clinton," but, "the president today said that ..."
Many newspapers, however, up "President" when it refers to the U.S.
president (U.S. "President"?)

In this, as in many areas, I disagree with AP. Their logic often escapes
me; they say "president" should be down even when referring to the
president of the U.S., but "Army" should be up when referring to the
U.S. Army but not the  armies of other nations. Go figure.

Michael Calvert
Night copy editor
Press Enterprise
Bloomsburg, PA