[huherto]

Isn't the author saying that Python + Pandas is almost as good as R, but Python without Pandas is less powerful than R.

I can't help to conclude that Python is as good as R because I still have the choice of using Pandas when I need it. What did I get wrong?

[paddleon]

you missed the "almost as" in your first sentence.

also, we didn't define "good".