Skip Navigation
Megan McArdle

Megan McArdle - Megan McArdle is a senior editor for The Atlantic who writes about business and economics. She has worked at three start-ups, a consulting firm, an investment bank, a disaster recovery firm at Ground Zero, and The Economist. More

Megan was born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and yes, she does enjoy her lattes, as well as the occasional extra-dry skim-milk cappuccino. Her checkered work history includes three start-ups, four years as a technology project manager for a boutique consulting firm, a summer as an associate at an investment bank, and a year spent as sort of an executive copy girl for one of the disaster-recovery firms at Ground Zero … all before the age of 30.

While working at Ground Zero, Megan started Live From the WTC, a blog focused on economics, business, and cooking. She may or may not have been the first major economics blogger, depending on whether we are allowed to throw outlying variables such as Brad Delong out of the set. From there it was but a few steps down the slippery slope to freelance journalism. She has worked in various capacities for The Economist, where she wrote about economics and oversaw the founding of Free Exchange, the magazine's economics blog. She has also maintained her own blog, Asymmetrical Information, which moved to The Atlantic, along with its owner, in August 2007.

Megan holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. After a lifetime as a New Yorker, she now resides in northwest Washington, D.C., where she is still trying to figure out what one does with an apartment larger than 400 square feet.
« Previous McArdle | Next McArdle » Email Email Print Print

Speech! Speech!

By Megan McArdle

Mar 18 2008, 5:08 PM ET Comment

I should say, now that I've cooled off a little, that Obama's speech was brilliant. This was the speech we've been waiting for him to give: a thoughtful, brutally honest, and deeply respectful treatment of a major issue. This was the best political speech I've ever heard a politician deliver--admittedly a low bar. I would be happy to have that in the White House.

But because I am greedy, I want Obama to give us even more. I want him not to demagogue foreigners as the source of our national problems. I want him to recognize what a great contribution immigration continues to make to our society, including Barack Obama himself. I want him to say that our problems are of our own making, and that the solutions are within us.

His speech today was brilliant precisely because it didn't play to either side's desire for an easy scapegoat. But I don't want him to unify us against foreigners; I want him to unify us for some better purpose than keeping the world out. And it makes me mad that he doesn't, because I feel like if anyone could, it would be him.

Presented by

More at The Atlantic

Whitney Houston Has Died Whitney Houston's Greatest Hits
Twelve Hours at CPAC, the 'Mardis Gras of the Right' 12 Hours at CPAC, the 'Mardi Gras of the Right'
The Amazing Swing State Recovery and Why It (Probably) Doesn't Matter The Amazing Swing State Recovery May Not Change Votes
Death by Flavored Vodka Death by Flavored Vodka
Reckoning With a Genocide in Guatemala Facing a Genocide in Guatemala

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register.
blog comments powered by Disqus
Special Report
Election 2012 Reuters Election 2012
The destination for full politics coverage, from the primaries to the White House. Read more ›

Correspondents

View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

The Civil War, Part 3: The Stereographs

Feb 10, 2012

Subscribe Now

SAVE 59%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

Megan McArdle
from the Magazine

Why Companies Fail

GM’s stock price has sunk by a third since its IPO. Why is corporate turnaround so difficult…

The Graduates

Busted banking careers, crashed consultants, and shrunken incomes: the author attends her 10-year…

Romney’s Business

The Republican contender touts his business experience—but does it really matter?