A year or so ago I went through all the people in my life and asked myself: does this person inspire me genuinely love me and support me unconditionally? I wanted nothing but positive influences in my life.

If you are given a chance to be a role model I think you should always take it because you can influence a person's life in a positive light and that's what I want to do. That's what it's all about.

There was a widespread indignation in the American media. They were saying 'How can you make a movie during an election that's about politics? What are you doing? Are you trying to influence people's lives?' To which my response was 'Well I hope so.'

Money has too big an influence on our politics in Washington and somehow we need to do something about that.

American influence in the world is certainly considerable but the United States does not control directly or indirectly the politics and economics of other societies as empires have always done save for a few special cases that turn out to be the exceptions that prove the rule.

Whether you are on the Right or the Left everyone can agree that there are a lot of outside influences in American politics that are not good for the system. There's just too much money.

Every artistic expression is either influenced by or adds something to politics.

When you look at our world the truth is that we're all under the influence of politics.

I met my wife Anne who was a sociology student and her influence together with activities associated with the student movement of the time opened up my interests amongst other things into the theatre art music politics and philosophy.

Politics and power is a realm of relative influence.

I'm highly political. I spend an awful lot of time in the U.S. trying to influence decision-makers. But I don't feel in tune with British politics.

I can tell you that too much money is corrupting American politics. Don't blame the American public. The U.S. Supreme Court has a lot to answer for because it has made it impossible for Congress to reduce the corrupting influence of money on American political life.

When I first started working in politics as a junior aide on Walter Mondale's 1984 presidential campaign it never occurred to me that I would one day work in the White House. There were plenty of women among the volunteers who stuffed envelopes and walked precincts. But there were fewer and fewer on each successive level of influence and access.

I was influenced by surrealist poetry and painting as were thousands of other people and it seems to me to have become a part of the way I write but it's not.

I love painting and music of course. I don't know nearly as much about them as I know about poetry. I've certainly been influenced by fiction. I was overwhelmed by War and Peace when I read it and I didn't read it until I was in my late 20s.

I'm as much influenced by Joseph Smith and the Mormons as I am more so than by Eliot. Actually I'm much more influenced by the poetry of the Mormons.

Standing as I believe the United States stands for humanity and civilization we should exercise every influence of our great country to put a stop to that war which is now raging in Cuba and give to that island once more peace liberty and independence.

Malcolm X made me very strong at a time I needed to understand what I was angry about. He had peace in his heart. He exerted a big influence on me.

Whoever wants peace among nations must seek to limit the state and its influence most strictly.

The idea is that there is a kind of memory in nature. Each kind of thing has a collective memory. So take a squirrel living in New York now. That squirrel is being influenced by all past squirrels.

In the beginning you must subject yourself to the influence of nature. You must be able to walk firmly on the ground before you start walking on a tightrope.

Great classic music that I've been turned on to has not only inspired and influenced me but it has had an effect on my songwriting.

A lot of movies were influenced by 'Logan's Run ' like 'Minority Report'. A lot of films have those elements in them.

The movies that influenced me were movies that told their stories through pictures more than words.