Remember Christine O'Donnell? She was the Tea Party-backed candidate for Delaware Senate two years ago who made Sarah Palin look like a Fulbright scholar. She famously called evolution a "myth", decried masturbation, and compared pornography to adultery. You might have thought her would fade away into obscurity/Dancing With The Stars, but you would be wrong. Last night, Bill Maher brought Christine O'Donnell back as a guest on his show Real Time.

O'Donnell and Maher go way back to his Politically Incorrect days, when she appeared as a guest on the show 22 times. Maher helped tank her Senate race by releasing the evolution/"myth" clip as well as an especially damning 1999 clip of O'Donnell admitting "I dabbled in witchcraft but I never joined a coven" (audio is bad):

 

That embarrassment caused Christine O'Donnell to release her infamous "I Am Not A Witch" campaign ad:

 

Last night Bill Maher brought Christine O'Donnell onto his show to apologize for releasing the witch video. And given what a pompous asshole Maher can be, the apology is actually sweet:

I first want to say to you — honestly, look you in the eye, I haven’t seen you in a long time — I know when I brought out the witch tape, I made your life hell and I’m sorry about that … And I gotta say, you know, I don’t agree with your ideas, but it shouldn’t have hung on that stupid witch thing.

In response, O'Donnell, plugged her book and called the witch ad a "self-inflicted wound" and "stupid." But, as the Raw Story notes, within minutes O'Donnell pivoted to blaming the witch ad on her advisors: "I never approved that ad and it got leaked." (Odd, then, that the witch ad ends like all other political ads with the line "I'm [blank] and I approve this message," huh?) You can watch the full HBO clip over at Mediate.)

Christine O'Donnell's Real Time visit was oddly chummy of Bill Maher, is it not? Did he really just genuinely feel bad for her and need to apologize? Why not do it privately instead of on air? I can't imagine that bringing Christine O'Donnell — whom most people, including myself, have forgotten about since 2010 — back to apologize would be that much of a ratings boon. Maybe there's something I'm missing here? Godwilling she'll go back to wherever she reappeared from not to resurface for another two years.

Contact the author of this post at Jessica.Wakeman@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr.