This week's Democratic Party Convention in Boston did everything its planners could hope for. It showed a party unified and enthusiastically behind its candidate. John Kerry's acceptance speech showed a passion and humanity that the candidate often has been accused of lacking.

But now is the time for the campaign and its candidate to move beyond the platitudes and symbolic gestures of the convention and lay out for the American people exactly where Kerry will take the country if he is successful in unseating President Bush.

Kerry repeatedly invoked his experience as a naval officer in Vietnam, commanding a swift boat in the Mekong Delta. On Thursday night members of his crew stood behind him as he accepted the nomination. One of his introductions was given by Jim Rassmann, a special forces officer whose life Kerry saved on one mission. For his Vietnam service, Kerry was awarded the Bronze Star, the Silver Star and three Purple Hearts.

We do not dispute Kerry's bravery, or in any way discount the service he performed. But his 41/2 months in Vietnam 36 years ago is does not give us a complete picture of the man, any more than we could get by concentrating in the time Bush whiled away in the Texas Air National Guard.

Kerry has spent almost 20 years in the U.S. Senate. What can he tell us about how that experience has shaped his beliefs? His record there should be at least as revealing as his service in Vietnam about what kind of a president he would make.

Just how will he approach our situation in Iraq if he is elected? Kerry has talked about restoring America's cooperation with its allies. Specifically how would he bring that cooperation to bear in Iraq? What roles does he envision for those allies in helping rebuild Iraq? What assurances will he give our newest ally, the interim government of Iraq, that we will not let that country be exploited by those we might invite into the rebuilding effort?

In his speech Thursday, Kerry mixed sharp criticism of the Bush administration with a plea to the president that the campaign be conducted without rancor or personal attacks. That sounds good, but it is unlikely that either candidate will forego criticizing his opponent.

Nevertheless, we urge both campaigns to curb the rhetoric in favor of substantive discussion. War, unemployment, health care, energy, environment and taxation are issues of complexity that deserve far more discussion and debate than can be crammed into campaign sound bites.

Both candidates owe it to America to speak with clarity and detail on how they will address these issues.

Kerry and Bush will be campaigning in Ohio this weekend, highlighting the importance that this swing state will play in the national contest. It will therefore be up to all of us, the voters, to disregard the rhetorical chaff that is likely to come flying out of both campaigns and listen carefully for the kernels of substance that should be the basis of the votes we cast in November.