AP promoted me to the White House beat because I knew Clinton his family friends and staff better than anybody in the national press corps. Those contacts helped me break a few stories and get my career in Washington jump-started.

Being a Barrymore didn't help me other than giving me a great sense of pride and a strange spiritual sense that I felt OK about having the passion to act. It made sense because my whole family had done it and it helped rationalise it for me.

It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. The 40-hour work week the minimum wage family leave health insurance Social Security Medicare retirement plans. The cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union label.

President Ford was a devoted decent man of impeccable integrity who put service to his country before his own self interest. He helped heal our nation during a time of crisis provided steady leadership and restored people's faith in the presidency and in government.

The traditional religious right's failure to restore public-school prayer or pass an antiabortion constitutional amendment has likely helped fuel the spread of the more extreme dominionist school.

My Marine experience helped shape who I am now personally and professionally and I am grateful for that on an almost daily basis.

In fact the experience at Oxford has really helped me later in life.

The most important American addition to the World Experience was the simple surprising fact of America. We have helped prepare mankind for all its later surprises.

We all recognize that in recent decades many important achievements have helped create a cleaner healthier environment yet our national needs in environmental health are not being fully met.

We need to drive down requirements for the schools. In the 19th century we increased the quality of the schools by higher education saying 'You can't come in unless you have these skills unless you've taken these courses.' We did that in Wisconsin when I was there it helped to transform the secondary school system.

If efforts to do social work are couched in selfish motives then they will die a premature death. Why would my efforts get politicised? I have values I inherited from my father. He helped many. Anyone even a postman knocking on our door would get a glass of water and some sweets.

I feel that marrying younger and being quite a young dad helped me with the stability of my career.

Growing up I didn't give my grandfather's photography a second thought. I wasn't involved in his work except that I helped my dad print his negatives.

I am lucky to have had an attentive curious and loving dad and heart-smart down-to-earth gifted mother. They changed the outlooks of their own lives and have never forgotten the people and organizations that helped them dream bigger than their circumstances should have allowed.

I think my dad has helped me tremendously.

From 1965 to 1967 my dad Jack Gilligan served in Congress and helped pass landmark laws like the Voting Rights Act.

The 'Bird's Nest' National Stadium which I helped to conceive is designed to embody the Olympic spirit of 'fair competition.' It tells people that freedom is possible but needs fairness courage and strength.