When thinking about the presidents that have served this nation throughout history, all except Barack Obama are white and they are all male. Older males who are steadfast in their beliefs and stand up for what they feel is best for the country.

Clinton is a name that stands out from the pack, and besides Bill’s questionable interactions with interns, he is generally remembered as a good president.

To my delight, on April 12, Hillary Clinton announced her bid for presidency on her website, YouTube page and Twitter account.

According to the Huffington Post, her tweet got 100,000 retweets in just hours, which is pretty amazing.

Things were going great, as a powerful and accomplished woman was finally getting support and recognition that she could be a legitimate competitor.

Then, articles started claiming that in order to make it past the Democratic Primaries and beat any male counterpart for the White House, she would have to soften her image and become more likeable.

Clinton’s likeability is a bit questionable, as she does come off stone faced at times and compared to Bill she is far less charming, but we have had quite a few unlikable presidents in our history.

Likeability is also subjective, as the Pew Research Center conducted a poll last year that said 64 percent of people surveyed found her likeable. Also, according to The University of New Hampshire’s most current survey on the 2016 election, Clinton will not only overwhelmingly win the nomination to run for the Democratic Party but will win the entire election by 58 percent.

The troubling thing is how closely articles written after her announcement echo thoughts expressed in leaked 1992 democratic polls meant to strengthen Bill’s career.

Americans polled referred to Hillary as a “tough political wife” and the consensus was that “few Americans think of you [Hillary] in personal terms (warm, caring, funny, kind, maternal) or have a sense of your [Hillary’s] deep love of children,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

No woman or girl should have to be feminine, soft, maternal or anything else for that matter.

More importantly, no president should be soft.

It is ludicrous that anyone would even suggest Hillary become anything but tough and political if she is going to be president.

Should she negotiate with terrorists too?

With all of the pressures and demands put on a president’s plate everyday, there is no way to survive or get anything done unless you have a strong personality and opinion.

No one would dare tell Obama, either Bush, Reagan or any other president to lighten it up.

If you are going to criticize Hillary for anything it should be her lack of understanding about how to use an email account.

These criticisms based on her gender are similar to those cast against Obama in 2008 because of his race. Whether you are a democrat, republican or a member of a third party, there is no denying that the country took a huge step forward when those criticisms were ignored and we elected Obama.

Muddying the water with talk of gender roles and stereotypes does nothing but take us a step backward, and that is not the way to go.