Memphis, Tenn. ? After a full-throated defense of President Bush’s policies on Iraq, Iran and even port security, Sen. John McCain shrugged his shoulders and 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 the embattled Bush, mostly for his wartime leadership. But a second theme was less forgiving, and it was aimed at the White House:

Get your acts together.

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

Outside the convention hall, delegates to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference said they were shaken by a string of White House mistakes.

“I am sorry for letting you down when it comes to spending your money,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, told delegates Saturday. “We’re going to turn it around and if we don’t, we’re going to be in trouble” in November.

He apologized for the lobbyist scandal that has tarnished the Republican majorities in Congress.

Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback shows supporters photos of his family Saturday after he spoke to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Memphis, Tenn.

He apologized for Republican-run Washington failing to stand up to China and India on trade matters.

And, finally, Graham urged 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.”

Some ambitious party leaders wrapped themselves in the memory of another president. “I am Sam Brownback, and I am a Ronald Reagan Republican,” said the Kansas senator, perhaps the most conservative potential 2008 candidate.

Sen. George Allen, of Virginia, one of those on the “straw poll” ballot, repeatedly mentioned Reagan and echoed Bush’s position on the war in Iraq.

“The strategy is we win, they lose,” Allen said. “There’s no substitute for victory.”