def init_node(cls, *args, **kwargs):
    """Initializes an ast node with the provided attributes.
    
    Python 2.6+ supports this in the node class initializers, but Python 2.5 
    does not, so this is intended to be an equivalent.
    """
    node = cls()
    for name, value in zip(cls._fields, args):
        setattr(node, name, value)
    for name, value in kwargs:
        setattr(node, name, value)
    return node
