Last week anti-war protestors heckled Hillary Clinton as she spoke at Brown University. After one man shouted, “Is it leadership to support the war?” other protestors joined in until they were escorted from the auditorium by police. Mrs. Clinton continued her speech.

Not to worry, though. The junior Senator has won over a bevy of new conservative admirers. This week William F. Buckley Jr., the ancient, lock-jawed, right-wing pontificator, called her a "contender."

Mrs. Clinton is "a very consequential woman with an extraordinary background," [Buckley] said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that was broadcast on Monday. "Her thought is kind of woozy left, not in my judgment threatening."

Meanwhile Corning Inc., described in the New York Times as having "supported Republican candidates for so long that its chairman once joked that it had not raised money for a Democrat since 1812," has joined the fan club, contributing $137,000 to her coffers since 2000.

While Mrs. Clinton would not respond to the anti-war protestors, and indeed barely mentioned Iraq in her speech at Brown, she has been quite attentive to the needs of Corning Inc. She seems to know quite well which group constitutes her "base."