Epiphany or expedience?
Probably both but I lean to epiphany many life-long Democrats
who work for wages and salaries are very conservative on many issues; they and/or their children have served in the military. They have voted Democrat all these years because pa or grampa told them that FDR ended the great depression and created the WPA and the CCC. Now, clearly FDR did not end the great depression, probably made it worse, but the children and grandchildren believe he ended it.
They are finally realizing that Obama is not FDR.