Why can't I subclass off of "date" ?

Ok, maybe this is a stupid question, but why can't I make a subclass of
datetime.date and override the __init__ method?
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---
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from datetime import date
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class A(date):
def __init__(self, a, b, c, d):
print a, b, c, d
date.__init__(self, 2006, 12, 11)
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d = A(1, 2, 3, 4)
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---
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$ python break_date.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "break_date.py", line 9, in ?
d = A(1, 2, 3, 4)
TypeError: function takes exactly 3 arguments (4 given)
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If I make A a subclass of some toy class that is constructed with three
arguments, it works fine. Why can't I make "date" the subclass?

Ok, maybe this is a stupid question, but why can't I make a subclass of
datetime.date and override the __init__ method?

davidfinance@gmail.com wrote:
>>
__init__ controls initialization of an already constructed object. to
control construction, you need to override __new__:
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http://pyref.infogami.com/__new__
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e.g.
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class A(date):
def __new__(cls, a, b, c, d):
print a, b, c, d
return super(A, cls).__new__(cls, 2006, 12, 11)
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