To the extent that a lot of our CX bikes aren't built for CX racing, that's certainly true. It's probably an artifact of the U.S. predilection for road bikes combined with the recognition that modern road bikes aren't particularly well suited for everyday use.

The Jake geometry is actually pretty good for racing, and I have raced my 2008 Jake, but the selection of components on the base level Jake tips the fact that it's really intended as an all-around bike. Specialized has recognized this division by making two different lines of bikes, the Crux and the TriCross. The Ridley X-Bow also seems to be targeted at general purpose use. It makes me wonder if Ridley developed that one for the U.S. market. I notice that Raleigh's website lists their Roper and Furley in a 'cyclocross' subcategory under 'steel road' rather than with the rest of their cyclocross bikes.

Eventually someone will come up with a marketing term for these general purpose CX-like bikes and they can split off as a new category. The old "sport touring" bikes or the 70's served essentially the same purpose.