Margaret Carlson is a panelist on CNN's The Capital Gang, which also features Robert Novak, Mark Shields, Kate O'Beirne and Al Hunt. She joined the program in October 1993.

Carlson was named a columnist for TIME in February 1994. Her column, Public Eye, makes Carlson the first woman columnist in the magazine's 78-year history. She was also a White House correspondent and deputy Washington bureau chief for the magazine, covering President Bill Clinton and Bob Dole's presidential campaigns in 1996. She first joined TIME Magazine in January 1988 from The New Republic, where she was the managing editor.

Margaret Carlson's journalism career has included stints as Washington bureau chief for Esquire Magazine, editor of Washington Weekly, and editor of the Legal Times of Washington. She earned a law degree from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. after completing her undergraduate work at Penn State University.

NOTE: Bio is as it appeared in the Forum program from April 22, 2005.