An avid reader of Ms. Applebaum's articles, and a "foreigner" myself living in central Europe, I find her argument here somewhat off-the-mark.

I've also seen the hypocrisy behind the ubiquitous question an American receives here, "Will the Americans vote for a black man?" But to bring up Europe's racism is a completely different matter and has no bearing on this discussion.

Racism, at least where I live, is synonymous with anti-immigrant sentiment, which extends equally to Eastern Europeans, Asians, Middle Easterners, and Africans. It's a resentment from the "natives" who are paying 50% income tax to fund the masses who they see as "freeloaders." It's also a fear that their own culture gets lost as immigrants overrun the country. I've seen it get very ugly, but I've never seen it be about race per se.

On the other side of the coin, we can't forget that historically, American black celebrities were always much more appreciated in Europe than at home. While there's a lot of hostility here towards people who live here and don't care to learn the language or understand the culture (and this extends to white Americans as well), merit has always been appreciated. Some Korean friends of mine, who run a very successful chain of businesses and live in a swank apartment, are invited to the same balls as the politicians. The music conservatories are filled not with natives, but with Russians, Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans. Those who distinguish themselves find honorary citizenship easy to get.

None of this is meant to defend the ugliness that exists in Europe towards foreigners, rather to predict that an intelligent, reasonable, gifted orator who wins the White House will be accepted with no problems.

Brilliant! I agree with Junggai 100%.

I am a black continental European/American female, International Lawyer and Economist, currently on an assignment by a major U.S. multinational to teach global diversity to their executives.

Although, I have had this assignment several years ago, it seems that there is something quite different, and almost... ominously regressive, about the "mood" of the U.S. concerning skin color.

Is this post O.J., or is it part of the brainwashing that accompanies super-materialism, or the devaluation of education, that is the difference that I am experiencing this time? I seriously need help with this observation, and would value others opinions.

As a person, well versed in global politics and economics, who speaks 5 languages fluently, with no European accent, (my mother is American) who has lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe, the U.S., and the rest of the world. It is my personal experience, there is absolutely no comparison with the U.S style of "racism", and that of continental Europe.

I experience things here in the States, on an almost daily basis, based solely on the color of my skin, that I have never experienced in any continental European country, or anyplace else for that matter. Further, when traveling around the U.S. with my husband, who is a "white" European professional, there have been some very frightening incidents, in major U.S. cities, that makes us question the sanity of a large portion of this population.

Therefore, as a U.S. and European citizen, who is very concerned about America's ability to be the progressive, post-Bush, nation it proclaims itself to be, the question is not "Is the world ready for a black American president?",( Every continental European I know, desperately wants him to win. We have been ready.) The real question is "Is America ready for a black American president?"

IMO, the answer is, sadly, no. I am worried for the future of the U.S., and sincerely hope that the voters prove me wrong.

There is bias in Europe regarding foreigners, largely for reasons stated by Junggai. However, intelligence, education, and reasoning, still trumps skin color. This has not been my experience in the U.S.

I have terminated my assignment here, and am returning to Europe.