title: Error importing tensorflow in Python 3 on Ubuntu 16.04 SyntaxError: l.append("%s=%s" % (attr, `value`))
body: <ol>
  <li>I have <strong>python 3.5</strong> installed on my Linux Mint (<strong>Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial</strong>)</li>
  <li>I also had installed <strong>protobuf</strong> installed using <code>pip3 install protobuf</code> </li>
  <li>I installed <strong>tensorflow</strong> using <code>pip3 install tensorflow</code></li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Then I tried to import tensorflow in python 3 it failed with error presented below:</p>
  
  <pre><code>Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "/home/abdullah/face_recognition/tensorflow_test.py", line 1, in &lt;module&gt;
      import tensorflow
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/tensorflow/__init__.py", line 24, in &lt;module&gt;
      from tensorflow.python import *
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/tensorflow/python/__init__.py", line 83, in &lt;module&gt;
      from tensorflow.python.estimator import estimator_lib as estimator
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/tensorflow/python/estimator/estimator_lib.py", line 35, in &lt;module&gt;
      from tensorflow.python.estimator.inputs import inputs
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/tensorflow/python/estimator/inputs/inputs.py", line 22, in &lt;module&gt;
      from tensorflow.python.estimator.inputs.numpy_io import numpy_input_fn
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/tensorflow/python/estimator/inputs/numpy_io.py", line 22, in &lt;module&gt;
      from tensorflow.python.estimator.inputs.queues import feeding_functions
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/tensorflow/python/estimator/inputs/queues/feeding_functions.py", line 40, in &lt;module&gt;
      import pandas as pd
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/pandas/__init__.py", line 23, in &lt;module&gt;
      from pandas.compat.numpy import *
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/pandas/compat/__init__.py", line 361, in &lt;module&gt;
      from dateutil import parser as _date_parser
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/dateutil/parser.py", line 158
      l.append("%s=%s" % (attr, `value`))
                                ^
  SyntaxError: invalid syntax
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Consulting through many questions posted on SO and other forums, I tried uninstalling <strong>protobuf</strong> then I encountered following error.</p>
  
  <pre><code>Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "/home/abdullah/face_recognition/tensorflow_test.py", line 1, in &lt;module&gt;
      import tensorflow
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/tensorflow/__init__.py", line 24, in &lt;module&gt;
      from tensorflow.python import *
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/tensorflow/python/__init__.py", line 52, in &lt;module&gt;
      from tensorflow.core.framework.graph_pb2 import *
    File "/usr/local/lib/python3.5/dist-packages/tensorflow/core/framework/graph_pb2.py", line 6, in &lt;module&gt;
      from google.protobuf import descriptor as _descriptor
  ImportError: No module named 'google.protobuf'
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>At the moment I'm just a beginner for all of this. I don't why protobuf is required why do all this hassle? I just wanted to get tensorflow installed on my system and try to learn something.</p>