shutdown -h now -- why leave power on?

[David Cuthbert]

Something I've always wondered (and been a bit annoyed with)... why does 
"shutdown -h now" respond with:

    Shutting down ACPI

    The operating system has halted.
    Please press any key to reboot.
I realise this is a BSDism, but I've never understood the point.  Why 
not keep ACPI running and instruct it to shut down the machine?  Amongst 
other things, it makes it easier to do a remote power cycle with WoL 
(and other situations where you might not necessarily have a keyboard 
attached).