"Senator Ted Cruz took the convention stage Wednesday night and he was given a standing ovation by the GOP loyalists. At first, the senator's speech was standard issue - he said that the country needs to be revitalized and the Democratic Party is the devil. But by the end of the speech, the Republican faithfuls were waiting for an endorsement that never came. To make matters worse, Donald Trump entered the convention hall while Cruz was still speaking, completely stealing the spotlight from him. So it didn't take long for the controversy to get white hot. Talking Points believes Senator Cruz was wrong to deliver his speech if he was not going to outwardly support Donald Trump. In addition, Mr. Trump was magnanimous in allowing Cruz to have a featured spot. The Trump campaign says it knew Cruz was not going to endorse but allowed him to speak anyway. So it looks like Donald Trump is the good guy here. I understand the bad blood between Cruz and Trump, and I understand that personal attacks are not easy to forgive. But you don't show up if you are not comfortable with endorsing the candidate. Governor John Kasich is taking heat for not being at the convention. In his conscience, Kasich could not endorse Trump so he stayed away. Ted Cruz should have done the same thing."

The Factor analyzed the contretemps with former Cruz aide Chris Wilson and political journalist Kelly Riddell. "Endorsing Trump was never on the table," Wilson insisted. "Mr. Trump asked Mr. Cruz to give a speech and there was no request for an endorsement. When the request for an endorsement came directly from Mr. Trump, Mr. Cruz said no. We submitted the speech in advance." Riddell denounced Cruz as a selfish politician. "Last night's speech proved that Ted Cruz loves himself and his career more than the American populace. We can not afford another four years of Democratic leadership, and if Donald Trump loses, Ted Cruz will be blamed." The Factor reiterated, "Ted Cruz looks bad, he shouldn't have shown up."

For a preview of Donald Trump's acceptance speech and what he hopes to accomplish, The Factor turned to former Bush aide Dana Perino. "It's a good speech," she stated, "and I'm curious about how the delivery will go. I like the fact that he'll be talking about the people he's met on this journey as he's been running for president, I think he's been genuinely touched by the laid-off workers. The tone is great and I wonder if he'll go off-script a little bit. Will that be irresistible to him?" The Factor also opined on the advance copy of Trump's speech: "He doesn't call anyone any names, this is a much more traditional speech and an intense attack on the Democratic Party. The best line in the speech is, 'The Democratic Party worships at the altar of open borders.'"

The Factor asked veteran journalist Bob Woodward to grade the first three days of the Republican National Convention. "I'd give it an incomplete," Woodward said, "because the whole ball game will be Trump's speech. What's pulsing through the mind of the undecided voter is who Trump is and what might he do in the presidency. He can let us see who he is and what he's done, but I think he has lost an opportunity in this convention with all this stuff about Cruz. It can safely be said that nobody is going to vote for or against Trump because of what Cruz said." The Factor disagreed, saying, "Donald Trump needs 90% of Republicans and if he has a thorn in his side like Cruz or Kasich, it will hurt him."

Documentary maker Ken Burns, who has made a living off the public dime via PBS, has compared the success of Donald Trump to the rise of Hitler. The Factor spoke about that with Bernard Goldberg. "It's not just Ken Burns," Goldberg said, "and it starts with the fact that Donald Trump is unlike anyone else who has run for president in our lifetime. He is detested not just by liberal Democrats like Ken Burns, he's also detested by some Republicans. I think it's largely because of his demeanor, he's seen by people on the left as a vulgar barbarian. They also hate the fact that he is not universally condemned, that he is cheered when he says something outrageous. America in 2016 is not Germany in the 1930s, it's just not an intelligent comparison and I find it insulting to people who were slaughtered by the real Nazis."

Some brand new polls show a very tight race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, both nationally and in Ohio. The Factor crunched the numbers with Tom Bevan of RealClearPolitics.com. "The polling for Trump is not bad," Bevan said, "and he's trailing Clinton by 2.7 points in our average of all polls. Three of the last four polls in Ohio have the race tied and Trump is running ahead of where Romney was in some key battleground states. But the whole election starts and ends with Florida!"

The Factor tossed live to the floor of the convention, where Jesse Watters cornered a Texas delegate and asked for his reaction to the Ted Cruz snub. "Most Texans are excited to have Donald Trump as the nominee," the big-hatted delegate told Jesse. "We love Ted Cruz for defending our liberties, but we need to unite behind Donald Trump." Watters also spoke with former Miss Alabama Catherine Long, who told him, "Donald Trump speaks our language, we are a state with manufacturing jobs that make America great." Finally, a South Dakota delegate joked that Donald Trump may be ready for inclusion on Mt. Rushmore if they can get his hair right. On the others side of the arena, Martha MacCallum gave a sneak preview of Ivanka Trump's introduction to her father. "She is his oldest daughter and she will speak to the women in the audience. He needs to appeal to woman voters and she will talk about Trump's female executives and how they are treated equally."

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who provided input to Donald Trump's acceptance speech, naturally gave it an advance rave review. "I have read it and it's an excellent speech. It's about how he's going to win - Hillary Clinton represents the insiders, the Washington power elite, while he represents the outsiders, the people you call 'the folks.' That's who he has to connect with, the real people like the steel workers and coal miners."

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland has an exhibit devoted to the intersection of politics and rock. If you haven't seen the Hall, it's definitely worth a visit.