Ryan gives a speech, ostensibly about poverty

First of all, I'm genuinely glad to see Paul Ryan talking at length about poverty, as he did in a speech yesterday. I'm guessing that makes him second only to John Edwards in terms of how much verbage a recent presidential candidate has given the issue. And in order to remember the poor with our actions and policies, we have to literally remember that they exist. Also, unlike Charles Blow, I won't go so far as to suggest that the whole thing is fraudulent. There's no question that Ryan's speech was a calculated political play, but that doesn't mean that's all it was. I assume this is entirely sincere:

Mitt Romney and I are running because we believe that Americans are better off in a dynamic, free-enterprise-based economy that fosters economic growth, opportunity and upward mobility instead of a stagnant, government-directed economy that stifles job creation and fosters government dependency.

Of course, sincere doesn't mean correct. The real question isn't whether super-awesome, extremely effective supply-side economics are superior to a lousy, statist alternative. It's whether supply-side dogma is in fact awesome and effective, and whether the alternative is in fact lousy statism. And Ryan, sincere though he may be, didn't really make the case yesterday.