Rove's "Let's Sacrifice Gonzales" Plan Remains On Track (With Updates)

I've listened to bits and pieces of the Gonzales testimony today, and things are not going well. Indeed, I heard on CNN over the lunch hour that White House insiders are very unhappy with how the Attorney General is handling himself. One White House insider even told a CNN reporter that watching the testimony is like watching a baby seal getting clubbed.

Of course, this is all going according to BushCo's plan. The White House is hoping that they can put Gonzales out there as a punching bag for Congress; and that once the crap is totally beaten out of him and he resigns, then Congress will give up on this particular scandal and will not have the energy to go after Karl Rove, the real mover and shaker behind PurgeGate.

Gonzales was just a bit player in all this. That's why he's doing so badly today, despite the fact that he has had weeks to prepare for today's testimony.

UPDATE: What Josh says:

From the buzz I'm hearing today, if Alberto Gonzales were a stock, we'd be at that point when those automatic trading halts kicked in because so many people are trying to sell. But let's not get distracted by Alberto Gonzales. He's just a cog. In almost every case, what we're talking about here is Gonzales's willingness to take orders from the White House -- most importantly from Karl Rove and President Bush -- on firing US Attorneys for corrupt purposes and using the Justice Department to suppress Democratic turnout in swing states. Mr. Gonzales is a secondary issue. The real players are in the White House.

UPDATE II: Here's what Senator Schumer said to a reporter moments after Gonzales' testimony ended:

"[I]t may have not been a knock-out punch, but he took twenty steps backwards. It's hard to believe that after today's performance the White House would want him to stay in office -- it would show a stubborness and an intransigence and most of all a lack of regard for the people who work in the Justice Department and the American people in terms of the faith in the criminal justice system. * * *"

Schumer also stated that the "arrow points more and more to the White House," and that he thinks it is going to be important to hear from Karl Rove and Harriet Miers.