While that may be true, having a practical understanding of Python is very different from your knowledge of Python after several years of development. Every programming language is full of its own caveats and trusty passages, and experience is what teaches you how to avoid them.
I am always reminded of a very talented consultant friend whose client had a strong relationship with him. They had a short term (6mo) project and felt it was safer to pay him over 100$ an hour to learn the language than try to find someone off the street with ideal background. Turns out he finished two weeks early.
