The Democratic Strategist Managing Editor Ed Kilgore observed that President Obama looked straight ahead during his opening statement at his press conference earlier this week. Kilgore thought – and I agree – that Obama was to trying to make better eye contact with the TV audience, something he couldn’t do with the teleprompters only to the left and right of him. At the presser, he had one in the middle.
At today’s town hall meeting, he did the same. It’s clear he’s trying to make better eye contact with the viewer at home. Good move. But they need to make sure that the camera angle that most observers will see is the one closest to the teleprompter. Certainly not the POLITICO angle.
Even on CNBC, it didn’t look like he was looking directly at the home audience.