She's Outta There!

By Rebecca Winters

You know you've arrived if you can leave when you want. When Bush aide Karen Hughes announced last week she would depart the White House to bring her homesick husband and son back to Texas, she became the latest high-profile woman to ditch a glamorous gig for her family's sake. In Hughes' case, the explanation seems to be passing muster. For others, the story's more complicated:

--JANE SWIFT The Massachusetts acting Governor dropped out of her state's gubernatorial race in March. Swift, 37, gave birth to twins while in office last May, and has a 3-year-old. Between parenting and campaigning, "something had to give," she said. Poor poll numbers probably made the decision an easier one.

--COKIE ROBERTS She'll step down this fall as co-host of ABC's This Week. The 58-year-old broadcast veteran's kids are grown, but "I want a life," she said. Rumors that ABC execs were seeking new talent to lure a younger audience may have rankled as well.

--CANDICE OLSON (FORMERLY CARPENTER) CEO of the women's website iVillage, Olson, now 50, left in 2000 to act as full-time mom to her children, 7 and 8. "Being a CEO is hell," she said. Her dotcom's stock was already sinking with the market.

--PATTY STONESIFER Microsoft's top female exec quit her "all-absorbing" career in 1997 for more time with her teenagers. With her stock options, Stonesifer, now 46, can afford to kick back; today she co-chairs Bill Gates' charitable foundation.

--By Rebecca Winters