Paula Abdul forever

It had to be the most obvious rhetorical question in the history of show business:

"Why would we get rid of Paula?" asked the executive producer of "American Idol" in a recent interview.

Indeed, why?

The question was floated, sort of, after Paula Abdul’s latest on-air meltdown.

(Someone ought to create a full list of her on-air meltdowns and continuously update it. It would be hilarious. Do you remember that teary breakdown she had a while back when she had a stupid problem in her stupid life and was wailing something like, “How can there be a God and let this happen to me?” I swear I almost broke a rib laughing.)

Paula made a fool of herself again when she became painfully confused about what she was doing. Specifically, she critiqued two songs from Jason Castro when he’d sung only one.

It caused a bit of flurry, naturally. Which is precisely why the executive producer of “Idol” will never dump Paula.

She is money in the bank.

Her silly comments, massive ego, tearful outbursts and frequent bouts with pills or booze (or both) are incredibly entertaining.

Pathetic, really, but entertaining too in a morbid sort of way.

Yes, the ratings for “Idol” have dipped a bit. But they are still solid and couldn’t stay in the stratosphere forever.

And they’re not dropping because of Paula. You don’t want to watch normal people on “Idol.” Well, maybe a few. But the human train wrecks are much more interesting.

Don’t worry, Paula. Your job as a “judge,” of all things, is safe.

The rest of your life is a joke, of course.

But you will be sitting in that seat with an insipid grin on your face for the last “Idol” show, whenever that is.