"If he says anything arrogant, it's over."

As Rumsfeld prepares to appear before the Senate and House armed services committees on Friday to discuss the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, according to the Washington Post neither Republicans on the Hill nor administration officials (outside of the president - who's clearly no small supporter) are trying very hard to defend him. Rather, it sounds like all the unnamed officials are defending themselves.

Bremer's been reportedly "kicking and screaming" for months for the issue to be addressed, and a State Department official expressed "extreme frustration" to the Post that months of pressure couldn't get Rummy to do a thing about the problem. And to top it off, a Republican Hill staffer says that "if [Rumsfeld] says anything arrogant [at Friday's hearings], it's over."

Now Rumsfeld ain't exactly known for his contrition, and regardless, the Democrats will surely be out for the blood. The only remaining question is whether the Republicans read the tea leaves as requiring a sacrificial lamb at the altar of public opinion. If so, Rummy's toast.