"Honestly, I think only non ABA grads should have to take it. Wisconsin has the right idea."
I disagree. While a person can reasonably argue about the states (through the Boards) partially delegating their accreditation process through the ABA, I also think it's perfectly reasonable to note that the ABA's standards aren't all that. In other words- there are bad ABA schools (with a few good students), and there are bad students at "good" ABA schools. Just getting into a "good" ABA school that won't fail you and coasting through shouldn't be sufficient to practice. Certain professions (doctors, attorneys, etc.) have licensing exams- nothing wrong with it.
"How many lawyers actually orally argue cases in front of a judge, though?"
This is a good point. I think that the answer is that if you do it, it happens way more often than you think; if you don't, it never happens. For example, in house counsel? Transactional attorney? And so on.
Even civil practice rarely gets that many *trials*, and, when it comes right down to it, federal civil practice (excepting criminal) rarely sees a judge because the motions, including summary judgment, are done on paper. But if you're doing a lot of state court litigation, even civil, you'll be in court.
All that said, I know many attorneys who have never stepped foot in court, and never plan to.