Nonconformists or Opportunists?

Colin Powell, in his endorsement, called Sen. Obama a "transformational figure." This term brought to mind Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermon The Transformed Nonconformist, based on Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds." King depicted conformism as a tyrant that held people prisoner against acting against prevailing mores by fear of being ostracized. There are consequences for walking to the beat of a different drummer, yet Colin Powell has become the symbol of a growing list of those who have crossed party lines to endorse Sen. Obama over John McCain. Will this momentum turn into an avalanche? Does this striking shift by Republican politicians, publications, and adherents represent true transformation, a renewing of the mind and attitudes or is it a "Jumping of the Ship" in order to save oneself?