Sen. Sam Brownback speaks at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

St. Paul, Minn. ? It wasn’t the acceptance speech he once hoped to deliver, but Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback took the podium for a few minutes Thursday night at the Republican National Convention to praise John McCain as a “bold and aggressive” candidate “given to action more than words.”

Brownback, who played a key role in helping McCain reach out to – and reassure – skeptical social conservatives, called the Arizona senator “a friend of mine, a colleague and an inspiration.”

“From the halls of the Naval Academy, to the hole of the Hanoi Hilton, from confronting cancer to making history with his vice presidential selection, John McCain lives for something bigger than himself,” Brownback said.

His prime time speech began just after 8:20 p.m. CDT, about two hours before McCain was to take the stage to accept his party’s presidential nomination.

Brownback called McCain both a “history maker” and a “history breaker” for selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

“But that’s not what I like most about John McCain,” Brownback said. “What I like about John McCain is that he does what he tells you he’ll do even if it hurts him.”

Brownback also used his remarks to deride the “Yes we can” motto repeated at last week’s Democratic convention.

“When you look at the past two years with Democrats controlling the House and the Senate, all we’ve seen is, ‘No we can’t,”‘ Brownback said.

He said Democrats can’t cut spending, find a viable way to reform health care or bring themselves to expand oil and gas exploration in the country.

Brownback’s speech, which ran less than 10 minutes, stuck largely to economic and foreign policy issues and dealt only briefly with the social issues for which he’s known.

He did reiterate the party’s opposition to abortion, indirectly reassuring delegates that McCain would not waiver on the issue.

“Are we going to give love and respect to the unborn child, regardless of whether that child has Down Syndrome or is born into poverty?” he said. “Yes, we will.”

Prime speaking spots at conventions are reserved for the party’s brightest stars and doled out as rewards to loyal allies like Brownback, who endorsed McCain just days after abandoning his own White House bid last year.