There’s a long way to go in both the Democratic and Republican presidential races.

But if you believe that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be their parties’ nominees, as Northeastern University Professor of Journalism Dan Kennedy does, it’s none too soon to be thinking about what role the media will play in that epic showdown.

“The media,” writes Kennedy, “which has done so much to enable Trump’s rise…must hold him accountable for his ugly anti-American rhetoric, a business record rooted in ‘good old-fashioned bullying,’ and his utter lack of relevant experience to be president.”

I agree with that, and would hope for similarly tough scrutiny of the Democratic nominee’s claims about her or his rhetoric, record and character.