I have to admire Kevin Falcon for taking his boss's message so seriously.

His boss, the Premier, might have actually been his underling, if the party base hadn't decided they wanted a fresh face instead of a party stalwart to lead them through the muck left behind by Gordon Campbell.

After a year and half of kowtowing to his former rival for the party leadership, Falcon has announced he needs to spend more time with his family - just likes she's been shouting from the rooftops, preaching from the political podium: Families First.

(What else could be the first priority for a government? Canines First? Cars First? Who of us doesn't belong to some kind of a family?)

So, Falcon has embraced the Families First agenda and is calling it quits for "both personal and practical reasons."

His official statement lets us know that, not only does his daughter need to see daddy more, he and his wife are expecting another baby in February, and anyone who knows anything about being a finance minister will realize that "the lead-up to a budget and its delivery in February is a time of great stress and pressure."

So, he plans to be around for the baby's delivery. (Whatever happened to the hospital just calling dad to let him know if it's a boy or girl? Who needs fainting fathers around?)

What I don't understand is, if he wanted to be leader of the BC Liberals and hence the premier of the province a year and a half ago, when his daughter was a year old, why has his family become a priority right now?

Wouldn't being premier have crimped his family lifestyle even more?

I guess the Premier's message was just too compelling.

Falcon isn't the only one who has taken the Families First message to heart.

Minister Mary McNeil has realized that her 13 grandchildren just miss her too much. Family must come first.

In her statement, she said her decision came after "much discussion with my family over the summer" - really? - and, while there were many factors influencing her decision to quit politics, "The most important for me was my family, especially my thirteen wonderful grandchildren, who I know have lost out on quality time with their grandmother these past four years."

Aw... all those cookies that she wasn't able to bake over the past four years, all those sleepovers at grandma's that didn't happen, all the Christmas presents bought at the last minute.

Everyone knows the best time of your life is as a grandparent.

Even Education Minister George Abbott has drunk the Families First Kool-Aid.

In his statement last week announcing he wouldn't be seeking re-election, he realized "what a sacrifice it requires from the families of those who choose to serve."

So he has repented and will soon be spending more time with his wife Lesley and his children.

I'd personally love it if politicians gave more creative reasons for quitting, like, "I'm too menopausal to make rational decisions," or, "I've starting writing that novel I've been meaning to do for 10 years," or, "My wife said she'd leave me if I'm not home more" - well, that gets back to the Families First thingy - or how about just, "I've been neglecting my dahlias for too long"?

Or, how about an honest reason: "I don't want to be part of the Official Opposition."

So with all these politicians being so considerate of their families, placing them higher in priority than public service, I'm wondering if our local MLA Marc Dalton is a family man, too?