I am also desperately compartmentalizing her white guy with a tan comment about Obama because I am so tired of having writers I like flash their ignorance online.

Me too. I grew up on McKinley; I read Beauty when I was 10 or so, and just fell in love. I also haven't come across a McKinley book I didn't like, including Sunshine and Dragonhaven (though I'm maybe more in the minority with the latter book).