Iraq was more than enough to get rid of Chaffee. Iraq alone nearly defeated Lieberman.
Okay, can we try to put this to bed right now?
Yes, Iraq and discontent with Republicans sent Chafee into early retirement. But there are two VERY important differences between Chafee and Collins.
November 2006 Approval Ratings (SurveyUSA):
| Approve | Disapprove | Net Approve |
| Linc Chafee | 51% | 44% | +7% |
| Susan Collins | 73% | 23% | +50% |
Bush v. Kerry, 2004 Results
| Bush (R) | Kerry (D) | Kerry Victory Margin |
| Rhode Island | 38.7% | 59.4% | D +20.7% |
| Maine | 44.6% | 53.6% | D +9% |
Whitehouse won by 7%, but
Rhode Island is a net 12 points more Democratic than Maine. And once you take into account the fact that
Collins' approval ratings are a net 43 points higher than Chafee's when he lost, it should be clear that Allen needs a hell of a lot more than just Iraq to win this thing.
