The GE design was not a piss poor design. Four US reactors that are currently in operation are of that design. The location of the Japanese reactors had more to do with their failure than the plant design itself. That was a poor choice of location by the Japanese, which given their engineering prowess, was possibly governed more by business and government pressure, rather than sound engineering practices. As far as nuclear power being dead here, four new reactors are slated to be built at existing sites, to add to generating capacity, with more to follow. As far as plant life goes, most of the plants operating in the US are running on extensions to their licenses, having been so over-engineered to begin with that they can easily extend their lives by at least 20 years.
You are very correct and you stated it properly as being piss poor for that particular location. That is what I also meant but did not put it properly.