Postcards

John Mack and Hank Paulson cast their movie

by Patricia Sellers

John Mack interviewed Hank Paulson at New York University's Stern School last evening. The Morgan Stanley (MS) chairman, who recently turned over the CEO reins, told me that he wanted to push some emotional buttons in the former U.S. Treasury Secretary and onetime CEO of Goldman Sachs (GS).

And he did. The two talked about the hairiest, scariest moments of the global financial crisis. Mack credited Paulson with keeping MORE

Powerful women push the envelope

A Friday indulgence: While I try not to use Postcards as a promotional vehicle for what we do at Fortune, I can't resist telling about a milestone we reached yesterday. The Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the confab that grew out of our annual Power list in the magazine, has sold out.

Eight months ahead of the 2010 event, October 4-6 in Washington, D.C.

That's crazy. Granted, for a few years now, MORE

Firms get fit for Michelle Obama

I ate an all-vegetable lunch today. This may not be your idea of a power meal, or a delicious one. But since Michelle Obama launched her crusade against obesity a few hours ago, I figured this would be a fitting way to honor her ambition.

For a woman who has two daughters, ages 8 and 11, and a popularity index that is way up there, obesity--and in particular, childhood obesity--seems MORE

Hank Paulson's next big gig

I delved into On the Brink last evening. That's the new memoir by Hank Paulson, the former Treasury Secretary, about trying to save the world--or at least the global financial system--when Bear Stearns (JPM) and Lehman  Brothers (BCS) and AIG (AIG) were collapsing around him.

The hell, the fear, the physical illness he felt are long past. When I spoke with Paulson on Friday, he seemed mightily relieved about that--and that MORE

Ex-White House Press Secretary: Straight talk on careers

by Jessica Shambora

Dana Perino is only 37 years old and already has the title "White House Press Secretary" on her resume.

But at age 25, after working on Capitol Hill for two and a half years, she was saying to herself, "I thought I'd be further along than this."

All around her, it seemed, men were leap-frogging into higher positions. She wasn't sure which path would help her advance her own career.

That MORE

Power Point: Go for lead dog

"As every Iditarod musher knows, if you're not the lead dog, the view never changes."

-- Sarah Palin, in Going Rogue. Yep, she's ambitious--and No. 1 on Amazon.com.

Lloyd Blankfein, Treasury Secretary?

by Patricia Sellers

Lloyd Blankfein hasn't loved buddying up to Washington this past year. After accepting--and repaying--$10 billion in TARP funds to help rescue the global financial system, the Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO has had to raise his presence in D.C., as well as in the press, to defend the firm's record profits and opulent pay. "We went from a bankrupt model to 'too big to fail,'" said Blankfein, referring to MORE

Power Point: Progress comes in fits and starts

"Progress comes in fits and starts and we're going to need to grind out this recovery."

--President Obama, responding to today's dismal jobs report that showed much greater losses than expected. The reported net loss of 263,000 jobs for September was up from 201,000 in August, and the unemployment rate of 9.8% hit another 26-year high. "I've made the point that employment is often the last thing to come back after MORE

Condi Rice garners standing ovation from Most Powerful Women crowd

One of the highlights of last week's Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit was an appearance by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who sat down with Fortune's Washington editor, Nina Easton. Rice got personal about her parents and passion for education. She also waxed political, on Russia, China, Afghanistan and Iran. Whatever their views, Summit audience members were moved, giving Rice a standing ovation as she left the stage. (Read MORE

Power Point: President Obama was black before and after the election

"First of all, I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election."

-- President Barack Obama, on the Late Show with David Letterman Tuesday night. In the first appearance of a sitting President on Letterman's show, Obama covered health care and Afghanistan, but also addressed concerns that the rage seen at recent town hall meetings was rooted in racism. He doesn't think it has anything to MORE