It is normal, as far as I'm aware, although I don't know why the Settings menu is requiring three taps - I haven't come across that, myself.
It's possible to navigate using the d-pad and keys, if that makes it any quicker for you - the Pandora Button will open the Xfce menu, the d-pad acts the same as the arrow keys do on a larger computer, and the Enter key will, of course, run whatever's highlighted.
I hope this is of some help.