Yes, because Maureen Dowd doesn't want to believe Republicans can be compassionate, it's all a charade. Here's my favorite line:

Ryan’s lies and Romney’s shape-
shifting are so easy to refute that they must have decided a Hail Mary pass of artifice was better than their authentic ruthless worldview.

Easy to refute...yet she spends no space in this column refuting any of them. Stephen Hayes at the Weekly Standard does a good job of chronicling the branding of Ryan as a liar without actually proving any lies. But the Romney/Ryan campaign cannot take this lightly. It's clear the real charade here is the one the left is perpetrating about Romney and Ryan's veracity and the MSM's willingness to go along for the ride. They need a full frontal assault to repel this attack.