OPRAH BACK ON THE STUMP FOR OBAMA IN LA

On the Sunday before the vaunted Super Tuesday, Oprah Winfrey was in Los Angeles to do some stumping for her man, er, candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama, at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.


Also at the rally was Michelle Obama, who escorted Stevie Wonder on stage, though both stumbled up the stairs. Wonder later cracked, “By the way, I was so busy looking at the next first lady that I lost my way.”


Another surprise guest was California first lady Maria Shriver, introduced by Michelle Obama as well.



"He's not about himself," she told the cheering crowd. "He's about the power of us and what we can do if we come together ... He is about empowering women, African Americans, Latinos, older people, young people. He's about empowering all of us."

Shriver's announcement -- made at the end of the rally also featuring Caroline Kennedy -- aligned the first lady with much of the rest of the Kennedy clan. It also marked a split with her husband, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who last week endorsed Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Meanwhile, Oprah addressed the rousing, mostly female crowd with remarks about women.


“This is, I believe, a unique moment in our collective history of women’s rights and civil rights,” Winfrey said. “Now look at this campaign: the two frontrunners are a black man and a woman. What that says to me is we have won the struggle and we have the right to compete.”


“You know after Iowa, there were women who had the nerve to say, ‘How could you, Oprah, how could you? You’re a traitor to your gender,’ ” Oprah said.


The crowd booed.


“Yes, that’s how I feel,” Oprah said.


“The truth is I’m a free woman," she continued. "And being free is that you get to think for yourself and you get to decide for youself what to do. So I say I am not a traitor. I’m just following my own truth, and that truth has led me to Barack Obama. Oh yeah, that truth has led me to Barack Obama,” Oprah said. “I’m not voting for Barack Obama because he’s black. I’m voting for Barack Obama because he’s brilliant.”


The Obama UCLA rally was aimed at reaching women -- one of Hillary Clinton's key strengths.


Also on Sunday, Bill Clinton appeared at several Los Angeles black churches in an attempt to boost Hillary's support from a key strength for Barack Obama.