To the Editor,

As Hillary Clinton campaigned toward becoming the first woman president of The United States of America, she constantly faced what we might call a “double standard.”

For instance, if she is photographed coughing, stumbling on stairs, and feeling wobbly from pneumonia at a commemorative event in subtropical sun, she is described as being too weak and unfit to serve as President. If she is haughty enough to name those who radically and blindly supported her Republican opponent “deplorables,” she is chastised and ridiculed.

If Hillary sits through 11 hours of grilling by the bogus Benghazi witch hunt committee, she is described as untruthful and suspicious.

If she – for one moment – acts tough and presidential, she is described as “harsh,” “uncaring,” “elitist,” and “untrustworthy.”

How many Presidents have we elected who have suffered real – not fabricated – debilitating illnesses? And how many men campaigning for office could be described as tough, haughty, elitist, suspicious? It is presidential, kingly and masculine to be haughty, elitist.

Hillary is certainly not the first woman to face these odds in pursuit of public service.

In 1135 King Henry I of England had only one legitimate heir, the young Empress Matilda, wife of Emperor Henry V of Germany. Young Matilda had ruled provinces in Germany and Italy and had issued charters in her husband’s absence; she held court and managed her realm on many occasions. She had solid experience in government.

When her husband died, King Henry of England called Matilda back home and asked his barons to swear allegiance to her if he should die without a male heir. They did.

The trouble started when Henry I died and Matilda’s cousin Stephen rushed to take over the treasury of England and became king. When Matilda protested with her armies and tried to retake the throne, civil war dragged on for years with Matilda’s army butting heads with Stephen’s.

Matilda’s trouble was that the English had no history of women serving as king, only queen. A queen was to bear the heirs, behave queenly, and smile on the arm of the king at courtly affairs. In the English lexicon, there was no meaning for king except the first born male heir of the king.

At last when Matilda’s army was about to take London, the people deemed her “haughty,” “elitist,” and “untrustworthy.” The English rejected her on those grounds. She conducted herself as a king would have, but alas, she was a woman!

Like 12th Century England, America has no history of a woman leader, even though some of our very smart and friendly allies have embraced the knowledge, leadership, and compassion of their women leaders.

Perhaps America Nov. 8 failed to rise to the need for a smart, caring, compassionate woman in a position of leadership. And we missed the opportunity to stop projecting a double standard on those who have a calling to public service.

Jane Maulfair

Emmaus