As a longtime aide explained yesterday: "He likes to pick her up, throw her over his shoulder and walk out.

The homily was delivered not by a high official but by a local priest who had been the cardinal's longtime aide.

Mr. Jackson's longtime aides were stunned at such an unequivocal statement of his primacy.

A longtime aide of the mayor also declined to comment.

Mark Salter, a longtime aide, said the senator had made "no decision."

"I've seen them at receptions together," said a longtime aide to Senator Kennedy.

Some nominations reflected the pope's personal attachment to longtime aides.

This month, the governor's campaign committee and a longtime top aide were indicted on racketeering charges.

"I don't think the Mayor realizes that this is not the old world anymore," one of his longtime aides says.

Further, he says, the new board members, one a lawyer and the other his longtime aide, were the most qualified candidates.