Yeltsin vs. Gorbachev

Callers to SUNDIAL may not know quite what to make of Boris Yeltsin, president of the major Soviet republic of Russia. On one hand, a slight majority registered the opinion that President Bush should negotiate directly with Yeltsin. On the other hand, a slight majority supported the idea that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev would be a better leader than Yeltsin.

On specific questions, 123 of 229 callers (53 percent) said Bush should negotiate with Yeltsin, and 106 said the president shouldn't. Only 108 of 227 callers thought Yeltsin would be a better leader than Gorbachev, while 119 (52 percent) said Gorbachev would be better.

More than 61 percent of the callers, 141 out of 230, said the United States should not give aid to Russia, while 89 callers favored giving aid to Russia.

"It's Your Call" represents a sampling of opinions from certain segments of the community, but it is not balanced demographically, as would be done in a scientific public opinion poll.