3) Python's semantic whitespace is so wonderful I'm baffled that most other programming languages don't have it. It's like they're coding with one eye shut: why not do this wonderful thing that makes everything easier?

To be fair, there are quite a few common cases where Python's syntax is rather inelegant. The need to break out if-then statements into multiple lines, the need for explicit 'return' statements which also have to go on their own line. These things are only indirectly related to whitespace but do sometimes put a lower bound on expressiveness.

Now we're stepping out of the realm of "semantic white space" though. The people I've known to get (literally) red in the face over Python haven't actually used the language and can't do much more than regurgitate stuff like, "but white space!"

> The need to break out if-then statements into multiple lines, the need for explicit 'return' statements which also have to go on their own line.

Unless I'm missing something those are poor examples of the limits of semantic white space:

  % python
  >>> def function():
  ...   if True: return False
  ...
  >>> function()
  False
  >>> def function():
  ...   if False: return True
  ...   else: return False
  ...
  >>> function()
  False

  >>> def function():
  ...   True
  ...
  >>> function()
  >>>

But I don't see how requiring a return statement, or disallowing code like:

  if var1 = function():
    do_something()

And yes technically it's a statement/expression issue not a whitespace issue, though they're indirectly related.