8/30/00 3:55 p.m.
Halliburton Hell
Dick Cheney is keeping his options open. He shouldn't.

By NR's John J. Miller & Ramesh Ponnuru

t's been almost three weeks since questions were raised about whether Dick Cheney would have a conflict of interest as vice president because of his stock options in Halliburton. It's a bogus issue — we don't believe for a minute that Cheney would try to increase the value of his options to the detriment of the nation — and it's understandable that Cheney would be annoyed at having to address it. Still, there's no excuse for letting the story linger this long.

Cheney says that smart people are looking at the options and that there will be no conflict by January 20. In other words, trust me. He leaves the impression that he's going to wait and see how the election goes before making a decision. He ought to make a deal for his options to be purchased at a fixed price on a date certain, so that his fortunes no longer fluctuate with the company. And he ought to do it now.

Cheney's hesitation at giving up $2-3 million, on top of $20 million that's already coming to him from Halliburton, is hurting the Bush campaign — not a lot, to be sure, but more than it can tolerate. The day the options became an issue, George W. Bush should have told Cheney to take care of it immediately. It's not just Cheney's judgment at issue here.

Abraham's Coattails
A few months ago, it looked as though Senator Spencer Abraham would need to ride George W. Bush's coattails to win re-election in Michigan. But perhaps the reverse is now true: A new Detroit News poll has Abraham leading his Democratic opponent, Rep. Debbie Stabenow, 43 percent to 34 percent. Bush also holds a lead over Al Gore, but it's much narrower, 40 percent to 37 percent.

In both races about one in five voters are undecided. But there's a clear trend in Abraham's favor. Polls from earlier this summer had him neck-and-neck with Stabenow. In more recent surveys, including the one published in the News, he's opened up a bit of a lead.

One possible explanation for Abraham's improved prospects is his aggressive stance against subsidized prescription-drug benefits for Medicare recipients. Abraham has an excellent ad claming that Stabenow's proposal would cost seniors $600 per year — belying the something-for-nothing rhetoric coming from Al Gore this week, as he pushes the issue on the national level.

Austin may want to borrow from the Abraham strategy. Bush's current ad on prescription drugs has the governor saying, limply: "Every senior will have access to prescription drug benefits." It closes with a voiceover about Gore's preference for big-government bureaucracy. But this isn't enough. Bush is letting himself get into a bidding war with Gore — which he's bound to lose, especially on an issue that's traditionally a Democratic strength.

Abraham is making a strong and persuasive attack work in his favor in a swing state. Bush ought to think about taking it national.