Slaughter, a distinguished Professor of Political Science at Princeton, recently left her job after only 18 months as the first woman director of policy planning at the State Department. Her reason for leaving this important leadership post was her need to be with her two teenaged sons who needed her more.

It makes me wonder whether any man would feel the same pull to put his kids above shaping national security policies. I hope so, but I doubt it. Anyway, what high ranking men even openly discuss the work-family conundrum? The President is unusual in making a point of eating dinner with his teenaged daughters for which he gets big points but that's not the same as Slaughter's decision to quit a powerful job.

Slaughter's piece is a reminder that the question of whether women can have it all is still unresolved. And, maybe can never be resolved in a universal sense. But it prompts me to ask a few follow-up questions of my own. For example, what does having it all really mean and for whom is this an issue? Most women, especially poor and working class women, don't have the luxury of not working and only mothering, or of marrying which fewer of them do compared to middle class women. Slaughter acknowledges this fact then seems to dismiss the centrality of this problem. Moreover, I venture to say that young women entering the workforce aren't focused on "having it all". In these perilous economic times, most are satisfied, if not thrilled, by a steady, secure job.

And, second, even if we stick with the 10-20 percent of women professionals -- Slaughter's and the Atlantic's key readership -- the obvious question is:   What is it about our highly individualistic society that resists making the changes (which other industrialized, western and democratic nations have tackled) that would support flexible work structures, universal child care and working families? What are the critical next steps to transform society to value choices that put family on a par with work? We need to re-think, ask new questions and propose new solutions that would redefine what a success as a leader means, and not just for women but for men as well.

Slaughter appears to have made the right choice for her and her family. Without significant systemic changes, one STILL cannot juggle the demands of leadership and mothering easily. That's a persistent challenge, but not a permanent barrier to progress.