I think Rowling's attitude in this regard is immensely telling of how extensively she borrowed from existing fantasy literature. Rowling's "ingenuity" has been one of her most heralded virtues since the release of the series, largely built on the shoulders of critics who no doubt cared little for fantasy literature prior to Harry Potter and have cared little for it since other than to critique those series which are direct offshoots of the Potter movement (Percy Jackson, et. al.).
The section of what Card says that you don't quote is far more telling than what you do:
Quote:
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"A young kid growing up in an oppressive family situation suddenly learns that he is one of a special class of children with special abilities, who are to be educated in a remote training facility where student life is dominated by an intense game played by teams flying in midair, at which this kid turns out to be exceptionally talented and a natural leader. He trains other kids in unauthorized extra sessions, which enrages his enemies, who attack him with the intention of killing him; but he is protected by his loyal, brilliant friends and gains strength from the love of some of his family members. He is given special guidance by an older man of legendary accomplishments who previously kept the enemy at bay. He goes on to become the crucial figure in a struggle against an unseen enemy who threatens the whole world."[58]
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Harry Potter, for whatever else it may be (and it is a lot of things), is exceedingly derivative of a rich tapestry of bildungsroman genre literature. I don't mean to suggest she didn't make any of it up since her world is her own, but she's received a lot of credit for creating what she built only the very topmost part on the backs of the work of hundreds or thousands of other authors. Add that to her insistence on a few occasions that Harry Potter isn't fantasy literature (for reasons I can't imagine) and I can imagine why other fantasy authors wouldn't could her amongst their greatest fans.
But, and this is perhaps more apropos of this thread, if reading Harry Potter gets people started reading other, better fantasy literature, then I'm all for it. There's a lot out there.