I don't blame him at all. He grew up as the kid of a prominent politician. He may not want that same life for his kids -- and things are different now with all of the social media and everyone happy to make any little nugget of info (true or not) go viral.That's very disappointing. This was a once in a generation opportunity, because whoever gets elected will likely continue for many terms based on name recognition alone. There isn't likely a "next time".
I find the whole "I want to be a present parent thing" a bit odd. If I was an 18 year-old who found out that my dad refused the chance to be the mayor of one of the world's most prominent cities just to be around, I'd be pissed.
And that future 18 year old may feel amazingly special that her dad gave up an opportunity in order to be a more present parent. I did that as a young parent and don't regret it for an instant. My kids have never said "you should have ...".