"...allowing her to become a campaign punchline?"
Classic. As if they could have stopped it. Had she been up-to-speed on national and international issues, and able to express herself without getting caught up in a revolving door of platitudes, she would have done ok. But she was choosen for her ability to smile, to wink and to toss out a cheery "You betcha," rather than for any meaningful ability she may have been able to bring to office.
She wasn't just the punchline, she was also the joke. The truly remarkable part of it all is that conservatives think their blunder was tactical, not strategic.