Relax... I don't think this has been discussed before, as it only happened very recently with the newest release of maemo-python (I don't quite get why they chose to make that change BTW, but it's sure to generate some headaches :-). To make things worse they provide the hardest, most roundabout possible method for manual install.

If you want Python to run an app that was programmed in Python, just install that app (Canola, Erming, Kerez etc.) and in theory python-maemo should be pulled down first as a "dependency" (and you should see a total download size much bigger than the app in question).

If you want to use the manual method you can skip the RD-mode hassle by installing the readily available "BecomeRoot" package. Then in xterm you can type "sudo gainroot", and after that issue the "apt-get install" command.