The problem is that the USPTO doesn't even seem to want to make the decision that early in the process. They seem to take a stance of "unless it is blatant crap, grant it, and let the courts sort it out and/or wait for enough complaints".
I think its just a matter of man power, they don't seem to be able to dedicate the time/talent up front to do a thorough job. Instead they make a bet that most patents are meaningless anyway so grant liberally and only put in the real time when/if a patent becomes an issue.
The problem with this is that it strikes a firm blow to one of the key goals of the patent system, to protect the 'little guy'. Making a patent a big enough issue to draw review is prohibitively expensive for most little guys. It seems like it takes two or more behemoth companies locking multi-million dollar horns to draw their attention.
