Perhaps inspired by Charles Barkley’s rant about Mitt Romney on TNT a few weeks ago, ESPN has posted its policies on coverage of the presidential election.

Written by Patrick Stiegman, vice-president and editor-in-chief of ESPN.com, the network wants to make sure its on-air personalities remain neutral.

Too bad Rush Limbaugh no longer works for the network. I would have loved to see ESPN enforce these guidelines for him.

Stiegman writes:

We should refrain from political editorializing and gratuitous references to the candidates, their campaigns or their political positions. This means no personal attacks or “drive-by” remarks in columns or on-air segments. Approved commentaries on sports-specificissues, or seeking responses from both candidates on relevant news issues, are appropriate. However, sarcasm, one-liners, perceived endorsements, attempts at humor or political criticism should be avoided.

And there’s more:

Should a candidate appear at or attend a live event on our air (e.g. MLB game, college football game, etc.), announcers should avoid any political commentary, prolonged references to or live interviews with candidates. A brief mention accompanying video of the candidate is appropriate. If approved by senior news managers, interviews may be conducted or taped for reference or airing either later in the same program or at a later date.

Coming soon, updated ESPN’s policies on coverage of Tim Tebow.