 		       (setq searching nil) ; done searching in any case
 		       (setq found
 			     (not (or
-				   (eq (char-after (point)) ?=)
+				   (eq (following-char) ?=)
 				   (memq (char-after (- (point) 2))
 					 '(?< ?> ?!)))))))))
 	     (if (or (not found)	; not an assignment

;;; Major mode for editing Python programs, version 1.08ay
;; by: Tim Peters <tim@ksr.com>
;; after an original idea by: Michael A. Guravage
;;


If a line is a continuation line by virtue of being in an unclosed
paren/bracket/brace structure (`list', for short), the suggested
indentation depends on whether the current line contains the first item
in the list.  If it does, it's indented py-indent-offset columns beyond
the indentation of the line containing the open bracket.  If you don't
like that, change it by hand.  The remaining items in the list will mimic
whatever indentation you give to the first item.

If a line is a continuation line because the line preceding it ends with
a backslash, the third and following lines of the statement inherit their
