When I woke this morning to read the news that Lech Kaczynski, President of Poland, had died in a plane crash in Smolensk, Russia along with 87 others, I was saddened and speechless.  Along with the president and the first lady, Poland lost a significant portion of her leadership, including the legendary Ryszard Kaczorowski of the original government in exile, central bank Governor Slawomir Skrzypek, and Jerzy Szmajdzinski, presidential candidate for the Democratic Left Alliance.  Apparently the 20-year-old Tupolev Tu-154 they were flying in – one of the most dangerous planes in existence – crashed upon an attempted landing in thick fog outside of Russia.