When you write Python you already know you're throwing the performance out of the window. In fact based on my experience those numbers are pretty good.
Don't ever choose python for performance. Its definitely fast enough for most things, but its just not the tool to leverage if you actually need performance.
Its wonderful if you just want to get shit done though, there are just so many good libraries around that you can use to get your project finished without committing several times the effort it takes in other languages