The only thing better than a twice-baked bean is a twice-washed pan. (WKBN)

The only thing better than a twice-baked bean is a twice-washed pan. ( WKBN

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Paul Ryan visited a soup kitchen here Saturday on his way to the airport, but by the time the GOP vice presidential nominee and his family had arrived shortly before noon, the grits, sausage and doughnuts had been served, the hall was empty of patrons and the volunteers appeared to have already cleaned up. [...] Ryan stood at the sink and took some large metal pans that did not appear to be dirty, soaped them up and rinsed them, remarking as the cameras clicked and the TV cameras rolled that he had spent a summer washing dishes when he was younger.

“We had a Hobart, though, which was — you get calluses on your fingers because it’s so hot,” he said, referring to the Hobart industrial dishwashing machine.

Afterward, Mr. Ryan stopped with his wife and children at a nearby soup kitchen. The family put on aprons and washed several large pans, though they did not appear to need washing, according to a pool reporter. There also was no one to serve at the soup kitchen, as breakfast had ended.

So this is pretty crazy: on Saturday, Paul Ryan planned to have a photo op washing dishes and serving food at a Youngstown, Ohio soup kitchen ... but by the time he arrived, the food had already been served and the dishes had apparently already been done. So he did what any politician in need of a photo op would do—he washed them again , for the benefit of the cameras:That was The Washington Post's report. Here's what The New York Times reported In Paul Ryan's defense, he's running for office for Pete's sake. And nothing will stop him from trying to convince voters that Mitt Romney and he have the empathy Americans expect in a president and vice president—even if that means wasting everybody's time by washing dishes that don't need to be washed.