Orca,
Good points (and in fact there are some F-35 critics who would agree with you completely).
There are few entirely non-stealthy aircraft being built today and the number is reducing. All air forces will field stealth, one way or another.
The question is whether the way to go is to try to build one system that does everything - CAS, deep-strike, air combat - inside an F-22-level stealthy wrapper, and then try to replace your entire air force with it.
If the current plan holds, the US will by 2030 have spent 35 years trying to do that, and will be less than half-way to that goal. The price for the USAF will be that the rest of its fighters will average more than 40 years old and that it will have to forgo most other re-equipment efforts.
So the question is: what is the best way to build stealth into your air force?