One can easily imagine a system that broadcasts the weather and clearance, and even aircraft location data close to real-time, and provide great situational awareness to everyone involved.
I don't think it's acceptable to put tens of thousands of people within a crowded airspace and not do everything in our power to keep things organized and secure.
You're always going to be limited to a limited range of capabilities. You can't run a full web browser in every cockpit - you need a standardized interface that works across different vendors, across borders, and over a low-bandwidth radio link.
And I don't think anybody considers CPDLC a failure. The goal was never to 100% replace voice communication.
> One can easily imagine a system that broadcasts the weather
That exists, it's called FIS-B. Everyone uses it.
> and clearance
Clearance isn't something that can just be broadcast. You need to have a conversation with the pilot to make sure the clearance is acceptable to them. The pilot needs the ability to reject the clearance and request amendments.
> even aircraft location data close to real-time, and provide great situational awareness to everyone involved.
This exists, it's called ADS-B. Everyone uses it.