Not only did he endorse her, he did it from his hospital bed at Walter Reed. And then he sent her the maximum possible donation allowable under law.

Second look at the GOP establishment?

Christine O’Donnell’s message resonated with the voters, and to the surprise of many she defeated Congressman Mike Castle, who many of us thought would win. The primary is over and in my opinion it is time for voters to join hands and support Christine O’Donnell. The Delaware seat is important and the winner in November could well determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the Senate.

I find many of the attacks on O’Donnell to be personal and lacking in balance and fairness. If her campaign wishes I am willing to assist in a limited way since I am still a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I will have surgery Monday, September 27.

Pretty great, and all the more so because his name is now being dropped by lefties like E.J. Dionne in the latest iteration of the eternal “Republicans of yesteryear were much nicer/smarter/better than Republicans of today” meme. Actual quote from Dionne’s hand-wringer last week lamenting the downfall of moderate, centrist conservatives like, er, Ronald Reagan, I guess:

Castle’s defeat at the hands of Christine O’Donnell, a perennial candidate who may be the least qualified Senate nominee anywhere in the country, does indeed mark the collapse of the Republican Party not only of Nelson Rockefeller and Tom Dewey but also of Bob Dole and Howard Baker…

Will moderate voters take a chance on the preposterous proposition that this Republican Party will turn around and work in a calm, bipartisan way with President Obama? Or will they use their ballots to wake up the Republicans and tell them that they need more Mike Castles, and fewer extremists?

Bob Dole’s presumptive answer: More “extremists.” I googled around to see if he and Castle are old friends, thinking that this endorsement might be a message aimed at getting MC’s attention. I didn’t find anything, but they’ve both been Republicans (specifically, moderate Republicans) active in government for so many years that I probably missed the evidence. Dole’s been out of the public eye for long enough that his support probably won’t make much difference to centrist Republicans in Delaware disgruntled about O’Donnell, but every little push towards getting RINOs to line up behind her helps. It’s a welcome gesture, and one for which I shall congratulate him at our next RINO Beltway cocktail party.

According to one of Jim Geraghty’s sources, the odds that Castle’s going to jump back in are now up to 50/50. Which, as I and others are increasingly convinced, could be the very best thing he can do for O’Donnell.