Editing Michael Dukakis (section)

===Crime===
[[File:Vice President Bush debates with Michael Dukakis, Los Angeles, CA 13 Oct 88.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Dukakis debating Vice President Bush in Los Angeles in October 1988.]]
During the campaign, Vice President [[George H. W. Bush]], the Republican nominee, criticized Dukakis for his traditionally liberal positions on many issues, calling him a "card-carrying member of the [[American Civil Liberties Union|ACLU]]". Dukakis's support for a [[prison furlough]] program was a major election subject. During his first term as governor, he had vetoed a bill that would have stopped furloughs for first-degree murderers.<ref>Oshinsky, David. [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/books/what-became-of-the-democrats.html?pagewanted=all "What Became of the Democrats"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307192351/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/books/what-became-of-the-democrats.html?pagewanted=all |date=March 7, 2016 }}, ''The New York Times'' (October 20, 1991): "In 1976 the state legislature passed a bill that would have ended the furloughs of first-degree murderers. Governor Dukakis, as the Edsalls point out, vetoed it. A strong advocate of prisoners' rights, he contended that the bill would 'cut the heart out of efforts at inmate rehabilitation.'"</ref> During his second term, that program resulted in the release of convicted murderer [[Willie Horton]], who committed a rape and assault in Maryland after being furloughed.<ref>''Crime, Risk and Insecurity'' ed. Tim Hope and Richard Sparks, p. 266</ref> George H. W. Bush mentioned Horton by name in a speech in June 1988, and a conservative [[political action committee]] (PAC) affiliated with the Bush campaign, the National Security Political Action Committee, aired an ad entitled "Weekend Passes", which used a [[mug shot]] image of Horton. The Bush campaign refused to repudiate the ad. It was followed by a separate Bush campaign ad, "[[Revolving Door (advertisement)|Revolving Door]]", criticizing Dukakis over the furlough program without mentioning Horton. The legislature canceled the program during Dukakis's last term.