2020 hopeful Eric Swalwell joined Chris Matthews to discuss John Bolton's warmongering ways, observing that those 120,000 people who would be sent to make war with Iran are not Don Junior, Eric Trump, or John Bolton's kids, but are the thousands serving in our armed forces.

"This president and his team are spoiling for war with Iran," Swalwell warned. We cannot let that happen."

"Why are we singling out Iran differently than North Korea?" he asked rhetorically. "The president tried to strike a nuclear deal with North Korea. The only difference is that Kim Jong Un sends the president love letters."

Chris Matthews observed that what is happening now isn't all that different from what happened in Iraq in 2003, right down to the lies about WMD.

"That's right. 120,000 people," Swalwell replied. That's not Don, Jr. and Eric going over to Iraq.

"That's our service members who a million of them served in Iraq and Afghanistan, served over the last 15 years and it's taken a toll on our country. This is not 2003. We have a Congress that will insist that the president tell us the time and the troops and the terrain and the reason we have to go. First things first. The whole Congress should be briefed on what this threat is and he should tell us why our allies are not with us right now. We can't go over there by ourselves. This will be an endless bloody, costly war for the United States."

After some discussion about Bolton and Trump, Matthews asked, "Why is he in this administration? This president has instincts against war. Why is he there?"

I'm not so sure I agree with Trump having instincts against war. I think he'll do whatever he thinks will make him look strong and manly. But Swalwell boiled it down nicely.

"John Bolton has never seen a solution he didn't want to bomb," he said. "I wouldn't say the president is a noninterventionist. Just somebody who acts on what is most convenient for him. That could be peace with North Korea and tomorrow that would be a nuclear war in Iran."

"[Trump] has no core operating principles," Swalwell observed before repeating, "These are not John Bolton's or the president's kids."

I doubt he'd care if they were. Well, except for Ivanka, of course.