The “nuclear option”, which eliminates the ability to filibuster most presidential nominations, forces a vote.  But is that what is necessary to break decades of gridlock when it comes to presidential nominations?

Thirty years ago this week the U.S. Congress created a foundation to remember Mike Mansfield, the former U.S. senator from Montana and Majority Leader of the Senate from 1961-1977.

The beauty of the American Dream is that no one has a claim to it, but everyone has a stake in it.  Success in this country doesn’t stem from a face or a name – it stems from a contribution. Good ideas rise; hard workers are promoted; and our society reaps the rewards for providing the greatest upward mobility in the world. As Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) meet with President Obama this week, promoting opportunity for all is chief on our agenda.

Recently, much attention has been paid to the question of whether women should – as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg put it in her recent book – “lean in” more in the workplace. A separate piece in The Atlantic prompted women across the nation to ask, “can women have it all?”

In other words, can women achieve the pinnacle of success in both their family lives and careers?

While the discussion of finding the balance between work life and personal life is certainly important, this question, in my view, misses the point.