Who would have thought former Massachusetts governors Mitt Romney and Michael Dukakis would have anything in common beside the name of the state they once led? Unfortunately for Romney, he is now being dogged by accusations that a decision he made led to the murder of innocent people.

In an incident that echoes when Dukakis approved a furlough for prisoner Willie Horton, who assaulted a couple in Maryland while he was out, Romney appointed Kathe Tuttman to the Massachusetts Supreme Court. Tuttman set a man convicted for murdering his mother, Daniel T. Tavarez Jr., free, even though he'd threatened to kill a whole bunch more people, including Romney. Tavarez moved to Washington State and allegedly killed a couple there. Now, people are wondering not only what Tuttman was thinking, but also what Romney was thinking when he appointed her.

The comparisons are easy to draw between the Tavarez and Horton cases. Yet the incident might not burn Romney as much as Willie Horton burned Dukakis. Romney's Herculean efforts to make the voting public forget he ever set foot in Massachusetts (on those days he's not trying to convince the voting public that he "tamed" us) might help him in this case. The mere fact that Romney is a Mormon might have voters who are less inclined toward watching the news thinking he was the governor of Utah, and when voting time comes, they won't make the connection.

He is already calling for Tuttman to resign. He also says the Tavarez case has nothing to do with Horton. That's like sticking his fingers in his ears and crying "Mary Had a Little Lamb." But the real issue is whether or not the voting public will link him to Tuttman and Tavarez.

Photo of Mitt Romney in Derry, NH, by Cheryl Senter/AP.