RFC -- HYGIENIC MACROS IN PYTHON

[Mike Carifio]

>  ... The Python steering committee rightly
> worries themselves with the idea that macros can seriously
> worsen the maintainability and comprehensibility of code when
> misused; further Guido has historically been adamantly opposed
> to macros in Python. I am not addressing any of those political
> issues at this moment in time.

Can someone fill in the newbies on this topic? Not all macro systems
are just "blind text substitution". Scheme and LISP both have reasonable
macro facilities which, when used judiciously, can actually enhance the
comprehensibility of code (in my opinion, of course). So, while
understanding
that a "white-space sensitive" language introduces some challenges, what's
at issue here? I'm missing the context...