Because there are so many different Linux distorts out there. I feel like at least one of them should be as newb friendly as possible.

That doesn't answer why it's okay to not give an option for advanced users. Even they want to use Ubuntu.

Too many options are confusing ala apple? But it really is simple enough to push the advanced options somewhere most users would stumble upon.

As I understand it, that one is Linux Mint. For windows users, it just looks like a slightly older windows.

That said, I don't think Newbie friendly and power user friendly must be at odds with each other. If you can figure out what the sensible defaults are, and provide simple toggles to customize things, you can cater to newbies, average users, and power users alike.