Python + RDBM framework?

[bukzor]

It seems that whenever I have an application that uses a database
(MySQL) I end up writing a database framework from scratch. Is there
some accepted pre-existing project that has done this?

I see Django, but that seems to have a lot of web-framework that I
don't (necessarily) need. I just want to have my objects go in and out
of the database in a consistent manner without writing a ton of code.
Can you just use the database part without making a full-blow web app?

I see Zope, but that doesn't use MySQL (as far as I can tell), which
I've invested a lot of time learning to use and optimize. Also, my
manager wants to be able to log into a MySQL prompt and be able to
look at the data.

--Buck