Flatly, no, and there will be no change on that front.

This is what the home page looks like to newcomers.
newcomer.jpg

And this is what it looks like if the forum would be the home page
newcomer2.jpg

The articles may not be super active but they are there to draw people to the site, give them basic info, and then encourage them to sign up for the forums, so they need to stay out front.

But hey man, I hear you. I deal with the same annoyance of having to click that one extra click every time I come here, cause I haven't been bothered to set up book marks to the forum section either. It's super painful, I know, but it's the price we pay to be welcoming.