Hank Greenberg hasn't lost any of his drawing power. The man whoputs the “star” into C.V. Starr & Company had a room full ofsome 400 APIW and local CPCU members buzzing yesterday afternoon ashe returned to the podium he dominated for so many years as theindustry's most sought-after keynote speaker.

Unfortunately, he couldn't say anything about what was oneverybody's mind–his celebrated legal battle with former New YorkAttorney General (now Governor) Eliot Spitzer. With a civil suitstill pending surrounding alleged accounting irregularities whilehe was running AIG, he made it clear right off the bat that hewould not address any regulatory issues.

I am not going to talk about regulationnot yet. I will soon, andI cant wait, he told the packed New York City hotel ballroom. Theonly other time he touched on his own situation was aself-deprecating remark after noting Chinese efforts to crack downon corruption. The Chinese will make examples of some veryhigh-profile people to get everyone else in line, he said, thenquipped: Sound familiar?

He got a good laugh out of the crowd in an otherwise veryserious speech about the opportunities of globalization and thethreats of protectionism to insurers in particular and the worldeconomy in general. (If you want to read the full story about hisspeech, click here.)

I first heard Hank talk about China 20 or so years ago in one ofthe dozens of his keynote addresses I covered over myquarter-century-plus at NU. I remember one particular speech inwhich he strongly urged the Clinton administration to “engage, butnot confront” the Chinese government over human rightsviolations.

He was not arguing as an apologist for the brutal Chineseregime. What he suggested was that rather than beingconfrontational with China and delivering ultimatums involvingtrade restrictions or outright embargoes, the U.S. should engageChina by continuing to develop the country's economy alongcapitalist lines. Capitalism, he explained, cannot thrive in aclosed society, arguing that economic self-interest wouldeventually force the Chinese government to allow more freedom ofspeech, the press and individual initiative to keep its economy–andglobal power–growing.

We aren't there yet with China, that's for sure, but economicand educational opportunities are certainly growing quickly acrossthe country.

While grateful that the media was allowed to cover the event atall, and that Hank did not keep his talk “off the record,” I didfind it amusing that the press table was stuck all the way in theback of the huge hall, right near the exit. We would have needed abullhorn to shout a question his way, but at least we were in theroom.

The conversation at our table focused on whether Hank wouldsettle or keep fighting to beat the rap, and my bet is on thelatter result. He values his reputation more than just aboutanything else, and I would bet he is determined not to end hisillustrious career with a black mark next to his good name. And Idon't think a lightweight political hack like Andrew Cuomo has whatit takes to take Hank down. Even the relentless Mr. Spitzer wouldhave had a hard time finishing off this kill had he stuck aroundthe AG's office rather than take over the state as itsgovernor.