CBS demonstrated incredible corporate timidity April 6 when it chose to fire the executive producer of a controversial miniseries. According to both The Hollywood Reporter and the Web site Zap2it, the network canned Ed Gernon for telling TV Guide that a May launch date was perfect for the upcoming four-hour miniseries Hitler: The Rise of Evil since the climate in Germany during Hitler's rise to power mirrored the current prevailing attitude in the United States regarding the Iraq war.

"It basically boils down to an entire nation gripped by fear, who ultimately chose to give up their civil rights and plunged the whole nation into war,'' Gernon said. "I can't think of a better time to examine this history than now.''

Previously, network head Leslie Moonves had distanced himself from Gernon's comments, which should have been more than enough. Whether Gernon's statements are historically accurate or appropriate is debatable, but that hardly merits bouncing someone off a project he has been working on nearly a year. Yes, during his interview Gernon attacked the Bush administration, U.S. foreign policy and public attitudes about Iraq. But on the very same day that CBS canned Gernon, Andy Rooney ripped the war effort and the president's actions in far blunter fashion, and on none other than CBS' sainted 60 Minutes.

CBS' move represents unnecessary, fearful damage control. Gernon was not starring in the series, and the production neither casts Hitler as a sympathetic figure or justifies his despicable behavior. But so many people currently -- be they network heads, radio station owners, or individual artists -- are scared silly of backlash for being on the wrong end of the Iraq issue.

It has been quite instructive reading interviews with a usually outspoken type like Chris Rock where he dances around the question of whether the main foil in his current film, Head Of State, is a George Bush caricature.

Anyone with a pair of eyes and an IQ over 40 can immediately deduce that the bumbling, cliché-spouting reactionary figure Brian Lewis is a Bush clone, right down to his "God bless America and no one else'' catchphrase. DreamWorks studio has denied reports that it pressured Rock not to criticize the president during publicity interviews, saying only that it was sure he understood how much money the company had poured into the film and would not jeopardize its success.

What makes the CBS network's reaction even stranger is that it is the one that has emphasized the production's historical bent for months in pre-release publicity. Several script and language changes have been made to ensure there is no chance viewers will sympathize with Hitler, nor think the Holocaust is being excused by implication. Gernon thought he was giving TV Guide additional context, explaining production company Alliance Atlantis' production methods and motivation.

One would also think that CBS might have more faith and trust in someone who had previously been executive producer for such acclaimed properties as The Matthew Shepard Story, Joan Of Arc and Me and My Shadows: Life With Judy Garland. This season Gernon had directed Hell On Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay. But not only did CBS fire him, it also has made no comment regarding the decision. Neither Gernon nor Alliance Atlantis commented either.

Thus, CBS proves again it is not what you say that counts, it is who you are -- and how much clout you enjoy at the network when you say it.