MAKE THAT NINE YEARS

TheClinton Administration now says that its budget plancan eliminate the deficit in just nine years -- not the ten years it projected earlier. The change results from just-released midyear estimates that forecast a deficit this year of $160 billion, down $33 billion from February projections. That drop, White House chief of staff Leon Pannetta told reporters aboard Air Force One, can be attributed to unexpectedly favorable economic conditions, $9 billion in spending cuts, and some technical accounting adjustments. Noting annual deficit spending is down $130 billion from 1992, Panetta put in a plug for boss Clinton, saying "I think that's a hell of a record in terms of the president delivering on his economic promises."Congressional Republicans have offered a seven-year budget balancing plan, and are skeptical that the Clinton plan can deliver.