A brou haha is brewing about how to dress in the White House’s Oval Office. ABC’s “Nightline” could make this an interesting ‘sign of the times’ segment instead of talking about moobs (man-boobs) as they did last night.

The former Oval Office occupant, George W. Bush, had a hard and fast rule: no one enter the Oval Office without sporting a jacket, out of historical respect for the office of the presidency. This is one policy of Bush’s I absolutely liked. Ironically in 2005, with Bush’s dress-up policy in place, a group of female athletes famously appeared at the White House in flip-flops, causing a flap between pearl clutchers and fashion bugs. But the real issue then had nothing to do with a war of the classes and not so much to do with fashion, but whether they dressed appropriately.

Now enter the era of Obama. In just four weeks, the new leader of the free world seemingly suspended Bush’s sartorial rule of decorum in favor of a more at ease appearance. Photographs of the president in the Oval Office sans suit jacket suggest a man with different priorities. Perhaps his objective is to reduce the feeling of being in a pressure cooker, especially given the daunting economic and global crises he and his administration are tasked to resolve. It’s just more comfortable at times for high level executives — even a president — to remove jackets and to the business at hand.

Sandra Bernhard cracked a good joke during her “I’m Still Here Damn It” Broadway show about presidential jackets. Paraphrasing, she exclaimed that while Predident Clinton always had his jacket off in the Oval Office, President Reagan never knew he even was wearing a jacket. Even in jest, there is an ebb and flow to shoulders and lapels, to Oxxford, and to Hart Schaffner Marx in the White House.

As an image mentor who helps executive men and political figures develop a strategy for looking confident, I’ll say President Obama does look self-assured sitting at his Oval Office desk without wearing a coat. He seems to convey intelligence that does not require the sartorial assistance of a jacket. However, one of his top jobs as president is to instill consistent confidence in the American people during these turbulant times. And when it comes to non-verbal queues like clothing, nothing sells confidence like a coat.

There is a time and a place for a president to appear in public without wearing a coat. The interview President Obama gave Matt Lauer during the Superbowl was a perfect example of dressing down for the right occasion without losing his presidential appeal. The setting was a 21st century fireside chat, having taken place in the Map Room of the White House, with a lit fireplace audibly crackling in the background.

But back to the Oval Office, no matter who occupies it today or in the future, wearing a jacket isn’t just a good Bush policy. It’s a good public policy for the president to be wearing a suit coat in the Oval Office. At the very least, if he is going to be photographed or videoed in this space, he should sport a coat, if not for his own comfort, than for the comfort of the American people. The comfort of the American people rests in his ability to deliver a confident message. There might be a feeling like the ‘weight of the world’ rests on Mr. Obama’s shoulders. But a man with his charisma should be able to support enough weight to wear a jacket for a public photo-op in the Oval Office.

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p.s. If the president takes my advice to task, he’d be doing the beleagured apparel and retail industries a great service. Maybe people would take their business meetings more seriously and coat sales would improve because people want to show respect for their counterparts. Must the First Lady be the only resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to be a positive trendsetter?

Designing your image is the secret science to your success.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps professional men and corporate workgroups create effective visual brands. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.