To listen to Gov. Martin O'Malley is to wonder whether postmodernism is dead and a great spiritual awakening is overtaking Maryland.

His speeches overflow with references to religious convictions.

In announcing his second bid for governor, he told a crowd in Baltimore's Inner Harbor in 2010 that "There's much more than what divides us," including "A belief that there is a unity to spirit and matter."

In his State of the State in January he channeled a Zen master. He said, "We need only the courage to let go. To let go of the falsehoods, the vengeance, the shortsightedness of rash and imbalanced decisions -- the things of our past that no longer serve."

He prefaced his support for gun control this year on the "dignity of every individual life."

This would be good news for God except that the faith Mr. O'Malley professes cannot be defined except in terms of the next big issue.

What it does have is the universalist scope of his Catholic tradition, however, and that faith's deep understanding that people need to believe in something to make their life meaningful. It probably doesn't hurt him politically to sound like an amalgamation of Jesus, Buddha and Gandhi, either, as Barack Obama showed how being all things to all people wins votes.

Whether channeling Oprah will ride him to the White House in 2016 is another matter, though.

His strength is that he quickly seizes on winning trends and expertly mimics the best manipulators of them. The recent launch of Broad Stripes/Bright Stars by allies of Gov. O'Malley to push his agenda parallels leaders of President Obama's political juggernaut, Obama for America, creating Organizing for Action at the national level. And Gov. O'Malley's branding for his O'Say Can You See PAC looks eerily similar to President Obama's ubiquitous O campaign symbol, to name two examples.

Being a good follower does not necessarily make a successful leader, however, and O'Malley will soon be on his own in a crowded field of presidential candidates if he decides to run. Second, two examples from recent history make me wonder if Americans do not hunger for a leader willing to stand for something more concrete than "a unity to spirit and matter."

The Dodge Ram Super Bowl ad is the first. It is the epitome of countercultural. At a time when what used to be called "living on the dole" is normal for about half of America and the stigma erased and urban America the cultural homeland, a commercial that celebrates farmers and the virtues of hard work, self-reliance and self-sacrifice is the one that overwhelmingly captivated viewers.

The second is the series "The Bible" on the History Channel. Despite retelling the stories of a book allegedly irrelevant to our lives in a country where an increasing number of people cite no religious affiliation, it has been a ratings sensation.

Maybe these are one-offs, but I wonder if Gov. O'Malley's paeans to philosophical non sequiturs can grab the hearts and minds of Americans the same way he influenced Maryland voters. For all the social changes overtaking the country, there remains a deep desire for universal truths that have withstood centuries of scrutiny, not just multiple focus groups.

Marta H. Mossburg lives in Baltimore County. Follow her on Twitter at @mmossburg.