authority and respect

TalSince we are, within the delineation of this post dealing with definitions then allow us to employ the definitions of respect to what you have just said,1 : a relation or reference to a particular thing or situation
2 : an act of giving particular attention : CONSIDERATION
3 a : high or special regard : ESTEEM b : the quality or state of being esteemed c plural : expressions of respect or deference
4 : PARTICULAR, DETAIL

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Of these 4 definitions we can use 2 out of the four as regards your statement here.

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Tal writes:

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As a conservitive, I may not respect Clinton himself; but when he was President, I must respect his rank/authority. A liberal soldier is now in the same boat. They may not respect Bush, the man, but they must respect the position he holds.

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We can either use the definition of 2 : an act of giving particular attention
in which case the respect is a neutral action involving paying attention to the authority figure or we have the other case of definition here.
3 a : high or special regard

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But this cannot be the case since you have already stated that the person need not be held in high esteem and yet respect need be shown.

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So I think that the difference between yourself and Holmes is in which definition of the term respect you are employing.