An important story about work-life balance for high-powered folks

Don't miss Rachel Swarns' story in the New York Times, "'Family Friendly' White House is Less So for Aids." Here's the lede:

When President Obama talks up the family-friendly vibe at the White House — the nightly family dinners, the flexibility to attend school presentations and join impromptu plunges in the pool with his girls — his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, sets him straight. “Family friendly to your family,” Mr. Emanuel counters.

* * *

“No matter how much the president tries — and he and Michelle try, they do — the White House is brutal on family life,” said Mr. Emanuel, who has struggled to make time for his wife and three children since they moved here from Chicago.

The story goes on to document the struggles of many White House staffers to spend time with their kids, many of them quite young. A few aids have even left for less demanding jobs. I am relieved to see that many male parents are featured in this story, and that it is not only the female aids who are struggling to do both.