Reagan gave 27 Oval Office addresses in his presidency. Obama has given 2.

[PennsylvaniaMatt]

53. He has directly addressed the country many times

I do think he should utilize the Oval Office more in addressing the nation, but he has directly addressed the nation several times from other locations.

March 2010 - The night health care passed the House
April 2011 - Speech on avoiding a govt. shutdown
May 2011 - Osama Bin Laden's death
June 2011 - An update on the war in Afghanistan
July 2011 - U.S credit default
May 2012 (From Afghanistan) - Update on the war
June 2012 - The day health care reform was upheld by the Supreme Court

And he has spoken to the nation countless numbers of times in a setting in front of the entire press pool - instead of directly looking into one camera. Let's not also forget the two times he addressed Congress in addition to the yearly State of the Union.

Setting wise, the Oval Office addresses are my favorite, and I hope he uses it more in his second term, but I think he has been very effective in communicating to the nation!