 Hartman first performed his Clinton impression on an episode of The Tonight Show . When he met Clinton in 1993 Hartman remarked , " I guess I owe you a few apologies " , adding later that he " sometimes [ felt ] a twinge of guilt about [ his Clinton impression ] " . Clinton showed good humor and sent Hartman a signed photo with the text : " You 're not the president , but you play one on TV . And you 're OK , mostly . " For his Clinton impression , Hartman copied the president 's " post @-@ nasal drip " and the " slight scratchiness " in his voice , as well as his open , " less intimidating " hand gestures . Hartman opted against wearing a larger prosthetic nose when portraying Clinton , as he felt it would be distracting . He instead wore a wig , dyed his eyebrows brighter and used makeup to highlight his nose . One of Hartman 's more famous sketches as Clinton saw the president visit a McDonald 's restaurant and explain his policies by eating other customers ' food . The writers told him that he was not eating enough during rehearsals for the sketch – by the end of the live performance , Hartman had eaten so much he could barely speak . 
