I think it's a legitimate way of contrast their perspectives. Bruce is an idealist deep down but he tries to hide it with a gruff and cynical exterior, especially when he's with Clark, while Clark is more open and upfront about it, and deep down he knows what Bruce is like too so in a way it's like he's daring Bruce to be honest with himself.
I mean, sometimes I think it's fine to be short and to the point in a story without devoting a lot of dialogue or page-time to go as in-depth about it as fans do.