Why does Kennedy get shunned?

Being politically active, I follow the news. And being a Liberal, I follow leadership. I went to the OYL summerfling. I'll watch Politics and CPAC, even if I'm not bored. And I try to read almost every story on leadership coming out of the Globe, the Star, and CBC.

However what I've noticed is in all the generic recaps, Kennedy really doesn't get much respect. At the OYL summerfling, he finished one vote behind Ignatieff. The early reports had him leading in membership sales in half the country. The only place his membership sales were low was Quebec. Yet after all that, the media still seems to think that it will come down to Rae and Ignatieff.

In the end, on the final ballot, it might get down to them, but so far based on membership sales, Kennedy is right there with Ignatieff. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see him actually have the largest delegate count come October 1st. Yet it still seems the media doesn't consider him a serious candidate. Not asking for a lot, but a little more respect for a man who's got as good a shot as anyone at being the next Liberal leader would be nice.