This morning, Obama’s chief economic advisor, Larry Summers, gave a talk to the Council on Foreign Relations entitled “Reflections on Economic Policy in a Time of Crisis.” I took away three things from his musings.

1. The government wants to stop running banks and car companies as soon as possible. I was heartened by the fact that Summers kept stressing over and over again that the last several months of policy making won’t have been a success unless “the government is no longer a major player in these [distressed] companies in short order.” It’s no surprise that he didn’t fail to pat the administration on the back for getting back $68 billion of bailout money in 6 months with a profit. As I have blogged and written in the past, I’m not so sure that’s a good thing; I suspect these banks aren’t quite as well capitalized as it might seem, and that more bad loans will come to the surface in the months ahead. Still, I do think it’s positive that the government doesn’t see itself acting as some kind of private equity overlord in the years ahead, interfering in the day to day management of nationalized businesses, which could only be bad news.

1. More regulation of the financial sector is needed, but how that will work is anyone’s guess. As Summers noted, “every three years for a generation, the problems emanating from the financial sector have profoundly disrupted the lives of millions. Surely, our fellow citizens are right to demand greater stability” and oversight of this area. Well, yes. But the question of how regulators making five figures a year can police guys making ten figures a year is still very much up for grabs. And, how to increase regulation without micromanaging banking to everyone’s detriment will be tough. Summers says the administration is working on rules but that the details are “mind-numbingly boring.” That’s something coming from him. But the key it seems will be capital, capital, capital. Financial institutions will be required to hold a lot more of it, to ensure that they don’t have to be bailed out again (see point one above).

1. Larry’s personal charm campaign continues. In the past, if Summers didn’t like a question or couldn’t immediately answer it, he had a way of making people feel that it was simply a stupid question. This time round, when asked a question about the FDIC that he wasn’t sure about, he said, “I’m going to do something I never would have done 10 years ago. I’m going to say, `I don’t know.’” Well done, Larry – now if you can just stop looking bored when other people talk…

The Real Victim of the AIG Bailout: Not the insured or the shareholders or the American taxpayer, but a 26-year-old track runner.

How Much Poorer Are You?: About 25 percent poorer, says Andrew Leonard. Americans have lost $14 trillion in wealth since the start of the recession in December 2007, mostly due to the decline of home prices, stock value, and pension funds.

The Elephant in the Room: BlackRock just became the world's largest asset manager by purchasing Barclays Global Investor. It now has $3 trillion under management.