A fully reusable vehicle only requires that level of scrutiny the first few times it flies. After it flies successfuly a few times, it becomes proven, predictable, and reliable. Mitch Burnside Clapp is a really motivated and motivational guy. Mitch is a do-er. Having met him and heard some of his accomplishments, I believe that if anyone can get a RLV to work affordably, Mitch can.
Refueling is a win.
I already talked about how refueling is a good idea above, so I won't go into it again in too much detail. The key idea is in extending capability, and reducing dV to orbit. Drag and gravity losses can make a big difference to a rocket. Wings are proven technology. They are well understood.