Mayor Pete Buttigieg participated in a self-consciously old-timey presidential primary ritual on Wednesday when he officially filed for the New Hampshire primary, and it really fit his candidacy. Buttigieg emerged from an elevator in the New Hampshire State House as supporters chanted, “PETE PETE PETE,” shook some hands, and went to Secretary of State Bill Gardner’s office to become the first major candidate to file, as his staff and supporters in the hall went through an impressive repertoire of chants. “Mayor Pete’s the one for me! Freedom! Security! Democracy!” “You and me let’s win this state for PETE’s sake.” And so on.

After speaking to reporters, Buttigieg then held a rally in front of the State House, and that first glimpse of him in the building’s old halls, the pageantry of the chanting supporters, and the rally-in-the-round setup of his stage all combined to bring into focus the Golden Age of Hollywood feel of his roughly 15-minute stump speech. It’s not quite Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, but it’s part imitation of that style of film, part affectionate update.

Talking to reporters, Buttigieg drew sharp distinctions between himself and the competitors he trails. He’s not the most “ideologically left” candidate, he made very clear, but he’s also not the guy who’s been around Washington, D.C., for decades. (You know the one.) He left those distinctions—and his competitors—out of his stump speech, for the most part. That speech was … well, if former Rep. Beto O’Rourke has seemed the most consciously imitative of former President Barack Obama during debates, Buttigieg was nonetheless definitely reaching for that hope-and-change feeling Obama conjured in 2008, and for that sense of nostalgia so many people feel about having a president they could be proud of. In fact, Buttigieg both promised that, during his presidency, the sight of the White House would be something to lower one’s blood pressure, not raise it, and said, “I am propelled in this campaign by a sense of hope.”

His allusions to policy were deftly woven into the overarching aspirational, unity-driven message of the speech. “Ours is the patriotism that knows this country is made of people, and you can’t love this country if you hate half the people” and “We know that the greatest global challenge is not something you can keep out with a moat full of alligators. It’s the threat of global climate change.”

The implicit—and at some points explicit—promise of the speech was that his presidency would represent a fresh start for the nation, a chance to get to work making things better because they will already feel better, and we will be inspired and empowered to improve on that. Buttigieg’s presidency, he promised, would center on our “shared values and shared priorities,” without sacrificing boldness. It’s very fuzzy. It’s hard to see how he could do this. But damned if it’s not kind of inspiring in a very updated-reboot-of-an-old-problematic-fave kind of way.