Fedora Core 9 includes Python 2.5.1.  I can use YUM to get latest and greatest releases.
To get ready for 2.6 official testing, I wanted to start with 2.5.4.  It appears that there's no Fedora 9 YUM package, because 2.5.4 isn't an official part of FC9.
I downloaded 2.5.4, did ./configure; make; make install and wound up with two Pythons.  The official 2.5.1 (in /usr/bin) and the new 2.5.4. (in /usr/local/bin).
None of my technology stack is installed in /usr/local/lib/python2.5.  
It appears that I have several choices for going forward.  Anyone have any preferences?

Copy /usr/lib/python2.5/* to /usr/local/lib/python2.5 to replicate my environment.  This should work, unless some part of the Python libraries have /usr/bin/python wired in during installation.  This is sure simple, but is there a down side?
Reinstall everything by running easy_install.  Except, easy_install is (currently) hard-wired to /usr/bin/python.  So, I'd have to fix easy_install first, then reinstall everything.  
This takes some time, but it gives me a clean, new latest-and-greatest environment.  But is there a down-side?  [And why does easy_install hard-wire itself?]
Relink /usr/bin/python to be /usr/local/bin/python.  I'd still have to copy or reinstall the library, so I don't think this does me any good. [It would make easy_install work; but so would editing /usr/bin/easy_install.]

Has anyone copied their library?  Is it that simple?  
Or should I fix easy_install and simply step through the installation guide and build a new, clean, latest-and-greatest?

Edit
Or, should I 

Skip trying to resolve the 2.5.1 and 2.5.4 issues and just jump straight to 2.6?
I suggest you create a virtualenv (or several) for installing packages into.
Fedora Python Upgrade broke easy_install