The last time Paul Ryan tried to show off his compassionate side, the effort failed miserably. It was two weeks ago, in Youngstown, Ohio, when Ryan stopped by a soup kitchen while en route to the airport. Dinner was over and most of the patrons had left. Ryan ended up cleaning some dishes, which—according to subsequent accounts—staff had left deliberately so that Ryan would have something to do in front of the cameras. A volunteer called Ryan’s visit “the phoniest piece of baloney.”

On Wednesday, during another visit to Ohio, Ryan gave the compassion thing another shot. But this time he used a more straightforward approach: He gave a speech on poverty. “We are here in partnership on behalf of an idea,” Ryan said, describing the goals he shared with presidential nominee Mitt Romney, “that no matter who your parents are, no matter where you come from, you should have the opportunity in America to rise, to escape from poverty, and to achieve whatever your God-given talents and hard work enable you to achieve.”

It sounded great, I’m sure. But it was still the phoniest piece of baloney, given what he and Romney have actually proposed to do if elected.

Let's start with the budget that Ryan crafted earlier this year and which House Republicans approved. It would dramatically cut spending on domestic programs—taking a huge, $3.3 trillion bite out of programs that target low-income Americans. At the same time, it would give new tax cuts to the rich. Romney has said he would sign something like Ryan's budget if it ever came to his desk. And while Romney been a lot less specific about the proposals he'd put forward, he’s made a few specific commitments, like vowing to cap non-defense spending at 16 percent of gross domestic product and promising Ryan-like changes to food stamps and Medicaid. Taken together, these suggest a budget plan with a similarly severe impact on low-income programs.

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