Is there a direct way to ignore parts of a python datetime object?

(a.month, a.day, a.hour, a.minute, a.second == 
 b.month, b.day, b.hour, b.minute, b.second)

A less explicit method is to compare the corresponding elements in the time tuples:

a.timetuple()[1:6] == b.timetuple()[1:6]

Try:

a.replace(year=1,microsecond=0) == b.replace(year=1,microsecond=0)

You can also consider comparing formatted date strings consisting of the fields you wish to include in the comparison. This allows you to be somewhat explicit while using shortened versions of the fields (as opposed to accessing a.year, a.month, etc.).

from datetime import datetime

date_string = '%m %d %H %M %S'
a = datetime(2015, 7, 4, 1, 1, 1)
b = datetime(2016, 7, 4, 1, 1, 1)
print(a.strftime(date_string) == b.strftime(date_string))  # True

def cmp(a,b):
 return (a > b) - (a < b)

d1=(2015,7,4,1,1,1)
d2=(2016,7,4,1,1,1)

cmp(list(d1)[1:],list(d2)[1:])

Returns 0 - they are the same, i.e. 0 differences

d1=(2015,7,4,1,1,1)
d2=(2015,2,4,1,1,1)

cmp(list(d1)[1:], list(d2)[1:])

returns -1, there is a difference.