Instead of using PS sharpening, I tried Focus Magic. I ran it once at 2 pixel radius on the far eye and again at 1 pixel radius on the close eye. The goal was to make them appear equally sharp.
I masked all the sharpening except the eye lashes and iris. Sharpening the whites of the eyes seemed to create noticeable artifacts, so I masked them.

forum discussion: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=26195792

original image by Producer40: