--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A skillful playwright might have a good…" description: "\"A skillful playwright might have a good time with the story of the assassination of President William McKinley, and especially with the three most flam..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/russell-baker-2930_assassination_a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good_1037871.png" --- # A skillful playwright might have a good time with the… ![“A skillful playwright might have a good time with the story of the assassination of President William McKinley, and especially with the three most flamboyant political figures involved: Mark Hanna, Theodore Roosevelt, and Emma Goldman.” quote by Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/russell-baker-2930_assassination_a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good_1037871.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/russell-baker-2930_assassination_a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good_1037871.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/russell-baker-2930_assassination_a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good_1037871.png) > “A skillful playwright might have a good time with the story of the assassination of President William McKinley, and especially with the three most flamboyant political figures involved: Mark Hanna, Theodore Roosevelt, and Emma Goldman.” [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A playwright can find dramatic richness by exploring the assassination of a president and the flamboyant personalities surrounding it, using historical figures to deepen narrative intrigue. **In simple terms:** Historical drama offers vivid characters. Key Takeaway Leverage real events for compelling stories. Themes history politics drama Mood thoughtful intriguing Type historical dramatic When to use this quote - theatrical production - historical fiction - educational programming - museum exhibits - podcast storytelling Key Concepts character study narrative tension Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance factual fidelity with artistic license? - What ethical responsibilities arise when dramatizing real people? A Different Perspective Historical accuracy may limit creative freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assassination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) [Flamboyant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flamboyant/) [Good times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-times/) [Mckinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mckinley/) [Playwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playwright/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I found myself thinking about President William McKinley, the third American president to be assassinated. He lived for several days after he was shot,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-found-myself-thinking-about-president-william-mckinley-the-third/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“MARK TWAIN Some months after invading Iraq, President George W. Bush said he had taken the war to liberate the Philippines as his model.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/mark-twain-some-months-after-invading-iraq-president-george-w-bush/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [“Around this time he performed a ceremony that he had contemplated for some time. He asked Fred to compose a letter requesting a future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/around-this-time-he-performed-a-ceremony-that-he-had-contemplated-for/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [ There are certain aspects of celebrity that I understand, although that's not the main point of the story \[in Assassination of Jesse James\] ,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-pitt/there-are-certain-aspects-of-celebrity-that-i-understand-although/) [Brad Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-pitt/) > [ To say this sacred prayer \[the Kaddish, prayer for the dead\] for a Gentile is a most uncommon proceeding, but so unanimous and ardent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cahan/to-say-this-sacred-prayer-the-kaddish-prayer-for-the-dead-for-a/) [Abraham Cahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cahan/) > [Let me be the first to admit that the naked truth about me is to the naked truth about Salvador Dali as an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/let-me-be-the-first-to-admit-that-the-naked-truth-about-me-is-to-the/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [William McKinley has surely been underrated - in no small part because he was succeeded by a memorable leader, Theodore Roosevelt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-strock/william-mckinley-has-surely-been-underrated-in-no-small-part-because/) [James M Strock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-strock/) > [“Thus, in the early 1900s, a new generation of crusading journalists known as “muckrakers” campaigned to expose the social ills and abuses of power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/thus-in-the-early-1900s-a-new-generation-of-crusading-journalists/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [William McKinley Oswald was my high school football coach. He was a great coach and had a profound influence on my life. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/william-mckinley-oswald-was-my-high-school-football-coach-he-was-a/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [William McKinley has left us a priceless gift in the example of a useful and pure life, in his fidelity to public trusts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-cleveland/william-mckinley-has-left-us-a-priceless-gift-in-the-example-of-a/) [Grover Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-cleveland/) ## More by Russell Baker > [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [The people who are always hankering loudest for some golden yesteryear usually drive new cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/the-people-who-are-always-hankering-loudest-for-some-golden/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear you the way you want to be heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/in-writing-punctuation-plays-the-role-of-body-language-it-helps/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Kingsley Amis was one of a trio of brilliant comic novelists who made English literature sparkle in the twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/kingsley-amis-was-one-of-a-trio-of-brilliant-comic-novelists-who-made/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Life seemed to be an educator's practical joke in which you spent the first half learning and the second half learning that everything you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/life-seemed-to-be-an-educator-s-practical-joke-in-which-you-spent-the/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [I gave up on new poetry myself 30 years ago when most of it began to read like coded messages passing between lonely aliens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/i-gave-up-on-new-poetry-myself-30-years-ago-when-most-of-it-began-to/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [After two years studying what rewrite men did with the facts I phoned them, I knew that journalism was essentially a task of stringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/after-two-years-studying-what-rewrite-men-did-with-the-facts-i-phoned/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [American foreign policy had still not recovered from its victory over communism when George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice took over at the White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/american-foreign-policy-had-still-not-recovered-from-its-victory-over/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Anything that isn't opposed by about 40 percent of humanity is either an evil business or so unimportant that it simply doesn't matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/anything-that-isn-t-opposed-by-about-40-percent-of-humanity-is-either/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [When you're the only pea in the pod, your parents are likely to get you confused with the Hope diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/when-you-re-the-only-pea-in-the-pod-your-parents-are-likely-to-get/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Serious journalism need not be solemn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/serious-journalism-need-not-be-solemn/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Ireland really is my problem; the breaking point of the huge suppuration which all British and all European society now is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/ireland-really-is-my-problem-the-breaking-point-of-the-huge/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Journalism talk is part of the nonstop background noise of American life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/journalism-talk-is-part-of-the-nonstop-background-noise-of-american/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [An educated person is one who has learned that information almost always turns out to be at best incomplete and very often false, misleading,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/an-educated-person-is-one-who-has-learned-that-information-almost/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [The best discussion of trouble in boardroom and business office is found in newspapers' own financial pages and speeches by journalists in management jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/the-best-discussion-of-trouble-in-boardroom-and-business-office-is/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) [Explore all 145 Russell Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) ## More Assassination quotes > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ We have the ability to take him \[President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez\] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/we-have-the-ability-to-take-him-president-of-venezuela-hugo-chavez/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [“Assassination is murder with a touch more precision. Brother Sim is precise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/assassination-is-murder-with-a-touch-more-precision-brother-sim-is/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [In modern day academia, secretly assassinating your peers is not necessarily performed the same way it was in king Tarquins day. The growth in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-spacey/in-modern-day-academia-secretly-assassinating-your-peers-is-not/) [Simon Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-spacey/) > [The Romans have provided a lot of writers with a model for various interstellar empires, of course, and no wonder. The Roman Empire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-romans-have-provided-a-lot-of-writers-with-a-model-for-various/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [We know from Talmadge Hayer, one of the men who carried out the assassination, who was shot by Ruben X as he tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/we-know-from-talmadge-hayer-one-of-the-men-who-carried-out-the/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) > [Assassination's the fastest way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/assassination-s-the-fastest-way/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“He also had a condition that was referred to as granulated eyelids and it caused him to blink more than usual, as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-hansen/he-also-had-a-condition-that-was-referred-to-as-granulated-eyelids/) [Ron Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-hansen/) > [“Hundreds of political assassinations related to minority races, labor leaders and spokesmen against fascism have taken place in the U.S. since World War II.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/hundreds-of-political-assassinations-related-to-minority-races-labor/) [Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/) > [However, after the assassination of Salman Taseer, the killer of Salman Taseer was welcomed by the religious fanatics. And they showered rose petals on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahbaz-bhatti/however-after-the-assassination-of-salman-taseer-the-killer-of-salman/) [Shahbaz Bhatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahbaz-bhatti/) > [There is not a single celebrated Southern name in any of the departments of human industry except those of war, assassination, lynching, murder, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-not-a-single-celebrated-southern-name-in-any-of-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I think that the implication of King's assassination has not been fully appreciated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/i-think-that-the-implication-of-king-s-assassination-has-not-been/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [The Senate has been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-chase-smith/the-senate-has-been-debased-to-the-level-of-a-forum-of-hate-and/) [Margaret Chase Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-chase-smith/) > [A deep, black grief gripped Robert Kennedy in the months following his brother's assassination. He lost weight, fell into melancholy silences, wore his brother's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-clarke/a-deep-black-grief-gripped-robert-kennedy-in-the-months-following-his/) Thurston Clarke [Browse all 264 Assassination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A skillful playwright might have a good time with the story of the assassination of President William McKinley, and especially with the three most flamboyant political figures involved: Mark Hanna, Theodore Roosevelt, and Emma Goldman.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Baker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good-time-with-the-story-of-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assassination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good-time-with-the-story-of-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/russell-baker-2930_assassination_a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good_1037871.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/russell-baker-2930_assassination_a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good_1037871.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/russell-baker-2930_assassination_a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good_1037871.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A skillful playwright might have a good time with the story of the assassination of President William…” — Russell Baker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Russell Baker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A skillful playwright might have a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good-time-with-the-story-of-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/a-skillful-playwright-might-have-a-good-time-with-the-story-of-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```