TL;DR:
"Must not say Apple does something for a reason, otherwise you are a fanboy."
Which is lame. You misrepresent what people have said (Jobs never said 9.7" was perfect, and when he made the point about smaller tablets, he was referring to tablets all of which were notably smaller than the 7.9" iPad mini).
You're taking this way too seriously, though. Who cares? The iPad mini is fantastic, and the following elements:
- Thin
- Light
- Same pixel dimensions as an iPad (thus doesn't add yet another to the mix)
- Same pixel resolution as the iPhone (thus the UI isn't too small)
Were either not possible (the first two) or not realized (the second two) until recently. You are correct that the popularity of the smaller, more frustrating 7" tablets played a role here, but you are severely mistaken in thinking Apple could have made an iPad mini 2 years ago. The pieces weren't yet there.
You're also ignoring the fact that they didn't make the tablet Jobs was referring to (he never said 9.7" was perfect, he did say that 5" and 7" is too small at iPad pixel dimensions, and you'll note Apple has not made an iPad that small). The iPad mini has a much larger screen than all the 7" competition.
But don't let that get in the way of your veiled attempt to call Gruber, and anyone who agrees with him, a fanboy.