President Obama has never visited Fresno.

Big deal.

But it is to some conservatives as well as to some liberals who are in a tizzy over whether the President should drop by the self-proclaimed “Gateway to Yosemite”.

This all came up after a White House interview with President Obama this past weekend conducted by Fresno TV station ABC Channel 30 anchor Warren Armstrong. The anchor asked the President about water issues, foreclosures and immigration - three big concerns that the federal government has a hand in not just for Fresno but for the rest of the San Joaquin Valley that was dubbed the New Appalachia by the Congressional Research Service in 2005.

Obama’s views on water are about as clear as virtually every other politician caught up in the eternal triangle between farmers, environmentalists and urban users. His immigration policies at times seem two-faced but in his defense the ultimate answer that is best for America is neither hard-line nor one that simply throws open the doors yelling “come on in!”

As for foreclosures, regardless of the role his legislation as a senator may have played in the making of the mess or whether his actions as president made it worse, Obama certainly by himself did not create the housing bubble or the burst. Far from it. It involved literally millions upon millions of people from greedy Wall Street types packaging and passing off bad mortgage investment instruments to unscrupulous mortgage underwriters to home buyers themselves who either didn’t read the documents - or wouldn’t - do the math.

And even though it is hard to say Obama’s stance on any of those three issues makes him the heavy, what is clear is that Obama should not be trashed for not visiting Fresno.

No one is blind to the fact the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area - along with Los Angeles - have become the ultimate cash cows for politicians. Perhaps Obama, as well as heavy hitters in Republican and Democratic circles would fly into Fresno with their Secret Service and security details if they could milk the place for $38,000 per plate in campaign donations. They can’t do that in the Appalachia nor can they do that in the New Appalachia.

So give the President a break when he basically dodged the anchor’s question about why he doesn’t visit Fresno - or any place in the San Joaquin Valley - during his fundraising shuttle flights to California. Obama told the anchor he relies on Gov. Jerry Brown to keep him abreast of SJ Valley issues. Brown isn’t exactly a frequent Fresno visitor either. Brown’s kind of got his hands full in Sacramento.

It also isn’t wise to insist that the chief executive of a nation of 311 million needs to visit every nook and cranny to get a feel for regional issues. That’s what we have Congress for.

Having said that, it is the dumping on Bay Area media blogs that trash Fresno non-stop that should disturb folks.

Fresno isn’t San Francisco or Woodside. You’re more likely to find a McDonald’s in Fresno than a Five Star Restaurant. And it is true the San Joaquin Valley isn’t the Silicon Valley - as more than one blogger points out while trying to outdo each other in trashing the place. That said, I’d like to see such bloggers nourish their brain cells so they can cut Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley to pieces with what they think are witty put downs without places like the San Joaquin Valley. You can’t eat code.

In a way you’ve got to feel for some of the self-anointed Fresno trashers like the one that couldn’t understand the big deal about anyone brushing off Fresno because “people in Fresno don’t even want to live there.”

It is an amazing parochial viewpoint from anyone in a region like the San Francisco Bay Area-Silicon Valley that likes to pride itself on being cosmopolitan and on the cutting edge of tolerance.

Third World countries often get more respect from some in the Bay Area than Fresno or the San Joaquin Valley. They view the valley as backwards and inhabited by second-class citizens

At least the President acknowledged Fresno’s role - as well as that of the San Joaquin Valley - in the American economy as well as the people who live here as being citizens of the United States. He took time out of his schedule for an interview with a TV station in a media market that isn’t exactly essential to win reelection.

Perhaps the bloggers who attacked and defended Obama for not visiting Fresno might want to extend the same courtesy to Fresno while keying in their witty put downs  between eating meals that more than  likely contain farm products from the San Joaquin Valley and not from the Silicon Valley.





This column is the opinion of managing editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Bulletin or Morris Newspaper Corp. of CA.  He can be contacted at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com or 209-249-3519.