The whole point of LaTeX and TeX is not to worry about the exact format, but to worry about the semantics of the content instead, and let the layout engine decide for you. Like all automation, this generally works very well, except when it doesn't. When it doesn't, the solution is to give it a little manual shove in the right direction, not to rewrite everything in the markup language flavor of the week.
Incidentially, semantics, not presention, was originally the point behind HTML, but it got warped and twisted over time into a kinda-sort presentation-oriented language.
restructuredtext, on the other hand, was originally developed to create documentation for Python programs. It might be good for that purpose (wouldn't know; haven't used it.) But it's certainly not good for typesetting mathematics, research papers, academic quotations and so forth. Hence the large amount of wheel reinvention going on here. It's a little bit like writing your research paper using JavaDoc comments. Sphincter indeed.
Incidentially, semantics, not presention, was originally the point behind HTML, but it got warped and twisted over time into a kinda-sort presentation-oriented language.
restructuredtext, on the other hand, was originally developed to create documentation for Python programs. It might be good for that purpose (wouldn't know; haven't used it.) But it's certainly not good for typesetting mathematics, research papers, academic quotations and so forth. Hence the large amount of wheel reinvention going on here. It's a little bit like writing your research paper using JavaDoc comments. Sphincter indeed.