In Arlington, Va., on Sunday, Buttigieg held a massive rally at Washington-Liberty High School (the campaign estimated the crowd size at more than 8,800). There was little mystery as to why thousands of upscale suburbanites (a mostly but not exclusively white crowd, including many families with children) stood in a line that snaked around the high school. “Intelligent,” “rational,” “calm,” “kind” and “relatable” were some of the reasons attendees gave me for why they picked him as their candidate. In short, he is a lot like them, and in an area with gobs of government workers, they are dying for a president who talks intelligently about policy and conducts himself as they would like their kids to behave. These are sober-minded, polite people, and they see in Buttigieg someone who channels their values and appeals to their intellect.

It also does not seem that Buttigieg voters would necessarily morph into supporters of former vice president Joe Biden should Buttigieg be forced to drop out. (A leader of the Reston group Indivisible says people in her group are “hedging” their bets, some with support for Biden.) Much of what they like about Buttigieg — his youth, articulateness and calmness — do not bring Biden to mind.

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“Youth” came up quite a bit when I asked attendees why they liked him. An Indian American woman said she didn’t want “a 79-year-old.” She takes care of her 80-year-old father and knows how people slow down later in life. She looked around the crowd and astutely commented that Buttigieg might need a wider range of support than was represented here.

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A group of all-female volunteers who came down from Philadelphia told me they’d never gotten involved in a campaign before, but hearing Buttigieg speak won them over. A 45-year-old woman says her son is a “Bernie Bro,” and they clash over that, but for her, Buttigieg provides hope and exudes trustworthiness. A 30-something woman says she will vote for Sanders if it comes to that, but wouldn’t volunteer or give money.

Two women who came over from Maryland (not a Super Tuesday state) make clear that “integrity,” “communication skills” and “honesty” are what draw them to Buttigieg. It does not surprise me that the character traits they value and that promote success in their lives are what they find so attractive in Buttigieg.

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The big applause lines — “Believe in science!” and “Hire an education secretary who believes in public education!” — were not fire-and- brimstone one-liners but appeals to wonky government and problem-solving.

His references to Sanders were relatively mild. “I respect my friend Sen. Sanders. I believe the ideals he talks about are ideals we all share,” he said. “But I also believe the way we build the movement to defeat Donald Trump is to bring them into our tent and not to call them names online.” His appeal for a top of the ticket that would keep the House in Democratic hands and “send Mitch McConnell packing” is an appeal for logical analysis of the Democrats’ electoral challenges.

His appeal to an “American majority” that can govern resonated with his supporters. They nod and smile (not holler and whoop) when he asks them to imagine the sun coming up and leaving behind the chaos, the cruelty and the tweets. These people recoil at all three characteristics of the Trump era.

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Buttigieg’s supporters do not want a revolution. They have not given up on government. If they can just find someone smart and decent enough, they are sure we can improve things. They are not desperate or angry; they are frustrated and anxious. They want America to do and be better; they do not necessarily want to remake America. Buttigieg’s dilemma is simple and profound: A plurality of the party at this point just might be desperate and angry and pine to remake America, no matter how improbable that might seem.