Meet the Prez

Term Limits

Jim Morris, a Dallas comedian who plies his trade as Bush at corporate events and on late-night TV shows and comedy specials, slips into his George W. as easily as others might put on a costume: "People ask me bout 'Raq. We have to be in 'Raq because we value human life. Unlike the people who oppose us, who deserve to die."

No matter how hard-hitting, Morris says he can't impersonate any president without empathy. "I have to feel what the character is feeling," he says. "I don't want to say he is in over his head, but things are difficult for him now. So when I do him, I do a little more stammering, and a little more uncertainty -- but I know where to get the laughs."

At most of his appearances, "The Tonight Show's" Bridges is usually introduced as "a very special guest" and enters to "Hail to the Chief."

"I come out, wave, look around, stand at the podium, and say, 'First, I want to thank you for having me. And third, I apologize for forget-

ting my second point,' " says Bridges. "Some actually do think, 'Holy mackerel, it's George Bush.' Some of them stand, some of them, their jaws are down and they're clapping. It's a fun gig."

Bridges says he just goes for laughs -- though he's thankful for the president's troubles. "When a president is right about where Bush is right now," he says, "it is actually pretty good for us. People aren't as sensitive about poking fun at him."

But it always ends.

"If you're a Marilyn Monroe look-alike, you're going to have a job as long as you can look like the young Marilyn Monroe. But the thing about political look-alikes, they have a limited lifespan," says Chad Freidrichs, whose 112-minute documentary "First Impersonator," scheduled for commercial release next year, combines the story of Meader -- whose JFK comedy career ended on Nov. 22, 1963 -- with that of today's presidential impersonators.

"There's the deadline, and they're kind of rooting for their candidate to win because their job is at stake," says Freidrichs. "Their performance is limited to about eight years."

Morris, who can earn as much as $10,000 for a corporate-party appearance, says he suffers panic attacks every presidential campaign. "Oh-eight should be very interesting, especially if Hillary is in the mix," he says.

Forte deadpans, "I'm already working on my Hillary Clinton."

But Morris says second terms aren't always good for impressionists.

"By that time, everybody and their brother can do a passable impression of the president," he says. "But the impressionist has to find the hook first. The challenge is being original" -- as it were.