CNN reported last night that “several administration officials and the House Republican Conference chairman said Friday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should step down, following the harsh response to his Senate testimony on last year’s firing of eight U.S. attorneys.”

The consensus appears to be growing and it’s time that it’s time to go for Gonzales. Even White House insiders are saying “Gonzales hurt himself.”

But White House insiders told CNN after the testimony that Gonzales hurt himself during his testimony.

The sources, involved in administration discussions about Gonzales, said two senior level White House aides who heard the testimony described Gonzales as “going down in flames,” “not doing himself any favors,” and “predictable.”

“Everyone’s putting their best public face on,” one source said, “but everyone is discouraged. Everyone is disappointed.”

And the administration officials who talked to CNN on Friday agreed that Gonzales’ statements did little to help him regain credibility on Capitol Hill and, in fact, may have lost him the few supporters he had left.

One official, who works closely with Gonzales, described him as “out of touch” with the political pulse in Washington. The official said the attorney general is still optimistic that he can remedy the situation.

Alberto Gonzales doesn’t have a shred of credibility left. Protesters at the back of the Senate Hearing room on Thursday “sang a rock tune popular with sports fans when a rival basketball player fouls out of a game: “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye.”" It really is time for him to make an exit… stage right.

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