Ron Paul
Ron Paul may be just behind Newt Gingrich in Iowa, but national polls still show him lagging far behind his Republican rivals. Bloomberg

The Republican debate on Bloomberg is underway at Dartmouth, and the focus is on something critical to America: The economy. But I've barely heard a word said in the first 18 minutes of the debate because I'm so concerned about Ron Paul's fake eyebrow, which is falling off.

At first, I thought it must be a mistake -- that maybe the Texas Congressman running for the GOP presidential nomination was being shown in a strange set let on the Bloomberg TV broadcast.

But as Paul kept talking in his first turn to answer a question at the roundtable-style debate, hosted by Charlie Rose and sponsored by Bloomberg and The Washington Post, it was clear that he was wearing fake eyebrows and that his right eyebrow -- showing up on the left on TV, was falling off.

It was crooked, almost upside down, and revealing his real, much thinner and lighter-colored eyebrow underneath. He looked like a clown, I'm sorry to say.

Paul talked, but I barely recall a word he said. It sounded like blah, blah, blah, my fake eyebrow is falling off.

And I've got a problem with a person running for president wearing fake eyebrows. All of the candidates are wearing heavy makeup for the lighted stage. Of course. They've got hair dye, hair spray, layers of makeup and more. But a fake eyebrow? That's too much.

Ron Paul is wearing fake eyebrows, and I can never take the man serious again as a candidate for president. Paul is entertaining -- especially tonight -- and he's got some interesting positions, like the one that the Federal Reserve is America's anti-Christ. But we can't have a man in the White House who wears fake eyebrows, and poor ones at that.

In a previous debate, Paul was criticized for wearing a suit that was too big. It swallowed him. He needed a good tailor. Instead, for this debate, he got a bad makeup artist. I feel for Paul, in a compassionate sort of way -- but the fake eyebrows are too much for a serious presidential candidate.

(Note: Paul fixed the falling eyebrow during a debate break at the one hour mark, but the falling eyebrow returned by the hour-and-a-half mark.)