What is the origin of the word “optics” that's prevalently used now in politics?
It means appearances, or “how a political situation appears to the public”. Macmillan Dictionary has been following the development of this new metaphor. Their gloss of the word’s history claims that the first political use was during the US presidency of Jimmy Carter, but that it became popular more recently in the context of the Libyan conflict.¹
According to the following extract from Macmillan Dictionary, the metaphoric usage of optics dates back to the late '70s:
Metaphorical expansion of optics into political and other arenas in fact dates back to the late 1970s, when it was used in the context of US President Jimmy Carter's anti-inflation policy. Interestingly, at the time, the metaphor also extended to the related adjective optical, with for example a particular course of action being described as a 'nice optical step'.
Though metaphorical use of the adjective never really took off, the noun gained a foothold in political commentary throughout the 1980s, especially in Canadian English.
Today it is still far more prevalent in Canadian and US English, though the current Libya conflict has led to more exposure in Britain. Optics has also gained currency in Irish English, often in the context of the country's recent economic difficulties.
In the following article from The New York Times they add further details about its usage and origin:
In his final On Language column last September (2009) , William Safire noted the trend: “‘Optics’ is hot, rivaling content.” When politicians fret about the public perception of a decision more than the substance of the decision itself, we’re living in a world of optics. Of course, elected officials have worried about outward appearances since time immemorial, but optics puts a new spin on things, giving a scientific-sounding gloss to P.R. and image-making.
Though the metaphorical expansion of optics into the political arena feels novel, it has actually been brewing for a few decades. On May 31, 1978, The Wall Street Journal quoted Jimmy Carter’s special counselor on inflation, Robert Strauss, as saying that business leaders who went along with Carter’s anti-inflation measures might be invited to the White House as a token of appreciation. “It would be a nice optical step,” Strauss said. The Journal was not impressed by the idea: the following day, an editorial rebuffed Strauss’s overtures with the line “Optics will not cure inflation.”