stupid question but why shouldn't this be possible ? 

class Element(_Element):
	def __init__(self,name,**kwargs):
		_Element.__init__(self,name)
                attributes = kwargs.get("attributes")
                children = kwargs.get("children")
		for key,value in attributes.iteritems():
			self.setAttribute(key,value)
		for child in children:
			self.appendChild(child)