GOP activists back Bush — but grumble

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After a full-throated defense of President Bush's policies on Iraq, Iran and port security, Sen. John McCain explained why: "It's easy to be loyal when the guy is at 65 percent. I'm not going to kick him while he's down."

His message echoed throughout a weekend convention of GOP activists and potential 2008 presidential candidates who rallied behind Bush, mostly for his wartime leadership. But a second theme was less forgiving, and it was aimed at the White House and the Republican leadership: Get your acts together.

Several speakers accused their party of drifting from conservative values, especially the promise to control government spending, and warned of defeats in November if dispirited Republican voters stay home.

Outside the convention hall, several delegates to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference said they were shaken by a string of White House mistakes and suggested Bush may need a new team.

"I am sorry for letting you down when it comes to spending your money," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told several hundred delegates Saturday.

He apologized for the lobbying scandal that has tarnished Republican majorities in Congress. He apologized for Republican-run Washington failing to stand up to China and India on trade matters.

And, finally, Graham urged activists to make sure the party returns to its roots before Election Day. "We're not going to win by being Democrats," he said "Conservatism sells."

Even an architect of Congress' fiscal record denounced it. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee said there was "no justification for a one-way ticket down a wayward path of wasteful Washington spending," a seeming indictment of the institution he leads.

Later, the favorite son Frist easily won a "straw poll" of convention delegates choosing their early favorite in the 2008 White House race, winning nearly 37 percent of the 1,427 votes.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished a distant second with 13 percent. Virginia Sen. George Allen, with 10 percent, tied for third with Bush, who cannot seek a third term.

McCain, the early GOP front-runner, urged supporters to write in Bush's name and fared poorly. With 4.6 percent, McCain finished fifth. Even with all of Bush's votes, he would have barely made it into second place. Also in the poll were Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. No vote totals were announced for them.

Material from Reuters is included in this report.