Shall we talk about "gaming the system", Senator McCain?

How about the way your campaign has insisted on a rule change for the Vice Presidential debate so that the appalling ignorance of your running mate won't be as obvious?

At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates.

McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.

So the McCain campaign insisted that their Vice Presidential candidate not have to actually debate, but instead may be asked a bunch of softball questions like "Piper: cute, really cute, or preposterousy cute".

Aren't lower standards to compensate against the disadvantage of a representative of a particular group something against which Republicans have railed for over a generation? Isn't that called "affirmative action", and don't Republicans always oppose it? Or is that OK too if you are a Republican?