LAist News Editor Andy Sternberg is inside the Barack Obama rally which is scheduled to kick off at 1:30 this afternoon at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus.

The event will feature Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Caroline Kennedy, but will be missing Mister Obama himself.

In warming up the crowd, California Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero has declared to the gathered supporters: "YOU are the real Giants and Patriots of America today!" (Get it?)

Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist