Here's MSNBC's Chris Matthews, moments ago:

Willie Horton comes to mind. It was Al Gore that first dug up that little sugar plum, on, on, uh, Mike Dukakis and sort of worked that against him. And then of course the Republicans really lashed him with that issue back in '88 and helped George H Walker Bush get elected president. Is this guy going to be Willie Hortoned, Mike Huckabee?

This did not happen. During the 1988 presidential primaries, Al Gore criticized Dukakis for furloughs generally; he did not mention Horton's name, his crimes, or his race.

During the general election, Republicans attacked Dukakis over Horton's crimes, emphasizing his race in the process.

When people talk about someone being “Willie Hortoned,” they aren't referring to what Al Gore did -- again, Gore didn't even mention Horton. They're referring to the GOP's use of Horton, which had deeply racist undertones.

But for years, conservatives and some media figures have been trying to blame all of this on Al Gore, despite the fact -- one more time -- that Al Gore never mentioned Horton's name, his crimes, or his race.