It's an established secondary meaning of the word optics. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/optics 2.( used with a plural verb ) the way a situation, action, event, etc., is perceived by the public or by a particular group of people: The optics on this issue are pretty good for the Democrats. Administrators worry about the bad optics of hiring new staff during a budget crisis.

The English language is full of words and phrases that just make writing look more fancy.