Clinton Foes Blast Call For Rumsfeld's Head As Opportunistic, Left-Pandering

After a tense exchange with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday in a Senate hearing, Sen. Hillary Clinton called on Rumsfeld to step down.

Today, two of her opponents in the race for the U.S. Senate seat from New York are questioning Clinton's motives in calling for Rumsfeld's head.

Anti-war Democrat Jonathan Tasini called the move an attention grab.

"If there was and is an efficient way to prosecute this war, Clinton owes it to the American public to spell that out. If she could have prosecuted the war effectively, why didn’t she lay out her plan all these years? Until she gets specific, citizens should view yesterday's confrontation with Mr. Rumsfeld as little more than politics on Sen. Clinton’s part."

The Journal News' Politics on the Hudson blog reached Clinton's two Republican candidates for reaction. John Spencer was critical of Clinton, saying she was trying to shore up support from the left. KT McFarland was non-comittal, saying Rumsfeld's future is President Bush's call, not Clinton's.