On the contrary I always heard several years ago how good it was and it was the language to rule them all. Now those years have passed and I used it extensively from time on and off, even jumping on the C++11 standard as soon as it was available to start working in. Now I know the dismal truth about the state of C++ projects.
Now the people who defend C++ or push it to every project (like in this thread) is almost always someone who sit exclusively in C++. You know, the people who think they are experts in C just because they know C++ (like in this thread)? There is the real incompetence.
I also fail to see how hunting down a memory corruption bug in C will make C++ look better, and since you mention it is legacy code it is the same in C++.
It does not matter what language I suggest, the real fact is that C++ user will use C++ for ANY project regardless. So no, we can't move away from this horrible language yet, but not for the right reasons.