Why are we all so fascinated by Paris Hilton?

It is easy to denounce the media for the amount of attention that they devote to Paris Hilton’s antics, to rail against the cult of celebrity and the like. But what this doesn’t explain is why people who couldn’t pick a d-lister out of a Heat line-up and normally don't give two hoots about celebrity culture are so intrigued by her.

Euegene Robinson comes close to explaining this anomaly in his Washington Post column today:

“I don't go out of my way to follow the latest twists and turns in Paris Hilton's life. I don't feel as if I know her or even want to know her. I can't work up much outrage about the favoritism officials showed in releasing her from jail because I think it was a kind of anti-favoritism that got her locked up in the first place. But why do I even have an opinion?
I think it's because the woman manages to be an intriguingly mysterious exhibitionist. She puts her life on display, but it's all surface -- all blond hair and lip gloss. There's never a hint of what her inner life is like, assuming she has one. I can't help but wonder what she's thinking -- if, indeed, she is in the habit of thinking.”