 and walking on to the boat. And when he walked off, he'd been relieved of command by the change of command ceremony. They announced him as Commander Paul Speer. He is the ship, in other words. And the president is the country while he's president, and he has the honorary title afterwards. They still refer to him as Mr. President, even though he's former president. Why would anyone have a hardened heart about an attempt on that person's life? Back to the article.