Completely disagree Stu. There is a difference between "the man" and "the Office" he holds. The Office demands that respect is automatically shown to it, that Office being the most powerful on this planet - you do not ever approach the holder of that office as though he or she is "just one of the boys", or patronise it, or treat it with condescension which is exactly what Sopel did - respect does not equate with "like" it never has and once the election is won it is never a popularity contest.