Get the Point?

Frequent readers of this blog know that I have railed against pointing. I firmly believe that pointing makes political candidates look like they are "lecturing" the audience (this is especially problematic for conservatives who may already have an unfair image as being "mean"). For this reason, I advocate open-hand gestures. ... So imagine my surprise when I opened up today's Washington Post and saw pictures of Mitt Romney, Rudy, and Barack Obama ... all pointing (the online version only features a picture of Romney).

... Here's my explanation: Note that they are all pointing upward. They are not pointing at any person (or at the audience). I think that's the significant difference. Okay, so I will make an exception to my rule and say that you shouldn't point AT your audience.