Can't comment on CakePHP, but I think jQuery is actually an example that favors DHH's view: It really simple to get started with, and there's tons of cools stuff you can accomplish. But try building a full web app along the lines of GMail or Google Docs with it and you'll quickly see that there's only so much you can do well with $(). In a simple website, jQuery can take care of all your JS needs. In a full fledged web application, it's mostly magic in the View.