Kojima said that we'll all love Raiden by the end of MGS4, because he knew people didn't like him for stupid reasons after MGS2. Heck, that one MGS3 trailer made fun of Raiden quite a bit.

They look like they're working really hard to build Raiden up. It's likely that if the Metal Gear series continues, it will be with Raiden methinks.

Metal Gear Raiden. Heh.

I think Raiden is a-ok.