Democratic Candidate Under Fire For Playing “World of Warcraft”

It is a very, very strange day when I actually side with a Democrat.

Let me explain. Colleen Lachowitz, the Democratic candidate for state senate in Maine, has come under fire by the GOP for playing the massively multiplayer online game "World of Warcraft." (WoW)

Colleen Lachowicz is the Democratic candidate for state Senate seat in Maine. She also leads a "time-consuming double life” as a powerful orc in the online fantasy role-playing game World of Warcraft, says the Maine Republican Party, which is using the hobby against her.

"Colleen is playing at level 85 -- the highest level one can attain," says a recent press release by the state party. "Studies have found that the average World of Warcraft gamer is 28 and spends 22.7 hours per week playing."

Lachowicz's character in the game is named "Santiaga," an Orc Assassin Rogue. And the comments she makes on her blog at the liberal website Daily Kos are raising eyebrows.

"I stab things  … a lot,” she wrote. “Who would have thought that a peace-lovin', social worker and democrat would enjoy that?!" Yes, I am seriously slacking off at work today. And I called my congresswoman's office today. And told them I would probably be calling every day."

As most of you know, I consider myself a hardcore gamer. And personally, I could care less if a politician, Republican or Democrat, plays games in their spare time. Video games, particularly WoW, always get a bad rep in the media. In fact, the only time you hear about WoW is either when some unfortunate person spent too much time playing the game and fell over dead or when it's being blamed for the latest school shooting.

But in all seriousness, playing WoW is not the worst thing a candidate can do. Now, if she were playing WoW instead of doing her job, that would be a totally different matter. But as long as she's doing her job, who cares what she does in her free time? No offense to the Maine GOP, but if all you have to go on is her video gaming hobby, you're really grasping at straws.

What do you think? How much stock do you put into a candidate's pastimes and hobbies?