If you have to choose a scripting language, why would you choose Python?
It's very intuitive, has a ton of libraries, helps you whip up a script VERY FAST. You can use it for small projects or big projects and can compile into an EXE for windows, an APP for mac or into a cross platform application.
I has possibly the cleanest syntax of any language I have seen to date and can do everything from adding numbers to system calls to reading various different types of files. Hell, you can even do web programming with it.
I see no reason why I would advise against python... ever.
What makes Python a good scripting language?