According to Time, this refers to the group of friends who helped Franklin D. Roosevelt run for Vice President in 1920 “and to whom he gave sets of cuff links in remembrance of that unfortunate political campaign.”
The gift of cuff links to political operatives has since become a sign of being an early insider with a politician.
The intricate knowledge of a process not normally known to the public and only of interest to insiders.
William Safire: “From its sports context comes its political or professional denotation: minutiae savored by the cognoscenti, delicious details, nuances discussed and dissected by aficionados. In politics, candidates who say they want to discuss larger issues look down their noses at the journalists and think-tankers who bedevil them with questions about campaign techniques, fund-raising plans and poll results. To them, inside baseball has a pejorative connotation that the phrase never gained in the baseball world.”
A staffer sent ahead to prepare for the arrival of a politician at a campaign rally, media appearance or other large event.
Time: “There is no such thing as a spontaneous campaign appearance. Every candidate has his advance men, the harried unsung experts who go from town to town to make as sure as humanly possible that the crowds will be out, the schedule smooth, the publicity favorable.”
A body man assists an executive branch official or political candidate by shadowing him at virtually all times.
The term was first used in a 1988 Boston Globe article, which said that body men “fulfill a kind of mothering role,” securing their bosses accommodations and ensuring he always has his favorite breakfast. Past body men have become very close with their employers: George W. Bush’s body man, Blake Gottesman, dated Bush’s daughter Jenna, and Richard Nixon’s body man followed his boss into retirement.
William Safire: “The informal job title is not be confused with the man with the briefcase, the ever-present carrier of the codes needed by the president to respond to a hostile missile launch. It is more specific and intimate than gofer, a term applied to any aide ready to ”go fer” coffee or do other menial tasks.”
