Pragmatic Prose

Type Inference Only Works at the Local Level

Type inference is great, locally that is.  When it's global it's a mess.  That's why large programs are easier to maintain and refactor in C# than in Python. 

Conversely, scripts are much better in Python than in C#.

So when right a short and dirty script, Python is fantastic.  When writing something a little bigger, the statically typed languages start to win.  There is no "Static is better or Dynamic is better"  only what locally optimal.

I think C# 3.0 is blurring the line somewhat with the best of both worlds.  It's locally type inferred (or it can be if you want it that way) and globally static.