Seems like the Palin approach was more to smear Obama, then offer any meaningful governing ideas/concepts herself. To me, she showed more "fluff-entertainment" than real content throughout her campaign. She will likely go down in political history as a blip in an otherwise boring MacCain campaign. However, she may be well remembered for her "entertainment" value.
As to the current media (and republican insider) assessment of her, "when you are in the smear business, don't cry when some of it is thrown back at you".