1988
Attack
ads proved especially effective as George Bush aggressively challenged Michael
Dukakis on prison furloughs, national defense, and the polluting of Boston
harbor in Dukakis' home-state of Massachusetts. One
ad showed Dukakis looking uncomfortable riding a tank. Another showed prisoners
going in and out of jail through a revolving door to criticize Governor Dukakis'
granting of furloughs to prisoners. Furloughs were the subject of the most
controversial ad of the election. "Willie Horton" told the story of a prisoner
furloughed from Massachusetts who committed a heinous crime in another state.
The ad used a menacing mug shot of an African-American criminal and was widely
denounced as appealing to racial prejudices. The
ad was also controversial because it was not produced by the Bush campaign.
A political action committee not affiliated with Bush paid for the ad in an
early example of outside groups using ads to effect an election.
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