This seems like a pretty silly way to look at performance - If I'm working in C++, I 'care' about performance, but performance always exists on a continuum.

If I "truly cared" I could write it in assembler; but I don't, because chasing down the diminishing returns isn't worth it.

C++ w/STD is a perfectly valid (and extremely powerful!) point in the continuum that runs from Python to Assembly :)