Far from being a step backwards, it's an acknowledgement that the Space Shuttle was a step in the wrong direction. When the Shuttle was built, it was a mass of compromises beyond belief now. The idea of firing the "second" stage before the "first" stage turned out to have bad side effects which resulted in the loss of two of the five shuttles ever built.
The Ares 1x and the forthcoming Ares V craft mark a return to the tried and trusted way of doing it.
I just hope that Pres Obama is farsighted enough to let NASA get on with it.
  