I have a confession to make. This November will mark the third presidential election that I’ve been old enough to vote in (yes, I’m old – don’t do the math). But I have never voted.

It’s not that I haven’t cared about my country – I always deeply have. But my distaste for politicians has always soured my taste for political issues; I didn’t care which wealthy, out-of-touch person was elected – or declared – president of the United States.

But this year, I do. And I’m not alone. Across the country, thousands of people like me are registering to vote for the first time. In parts of Florida and Ohio, voter registration has doubled and even tripled. And although I registered as an independent, those registering as Democrats far outnumber those registering as Republicans in many regions. Why?

I have a theory.

In the past four years, between the Sept. 11 attacks and the WMD debacle, we’ve seen two of the worst American intelligence failures since Pearl Harbor – maybe ever. While Sept. 11, 2001, may not have been preventable; the poor planning in Iraq certainly was. The cost so far is more than 1,100 American lives, 10,000 to 15,000 Iraqi lives and $120 billion.

In the past four years, the United States economy has lost private sector jobs. That hasn’t happened during a four-year presidential term since Herbert Hoover was president, 70 years ago. Right here in Illinois, after more than 50 years, Maytag shut down its Galesburg factory – and the 1,600 jobs upon which the town depended – and opened one in Mexico. A job market that grew during a world war, conflicts in Korea and Vietnam and the Cold War could not overcome an economy hamstrung by huge tax cuts disproportionately favoring the wealthy.

In the past four years, the administration has ignored or marginalized any scientist – and worse, any science – that contradicts its policies. That’s partly why 48 Nobel laureates have signed a petition endorsing the challenger.

In the past four years, world opinion of America has deteriorated, especially in Western Europe and the Muslim world – and even among current and former Iraq war allies such as Spain, according to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center.

In the past four years, the federal budget has gone from a surplus to a record deficit, starved by tax cuts that heavily favor the rich. We’ve seen our personal freedoms unnecessarily curtailed by the Patriot Act. We’ve watched our environment be handed over to Big Business, despite the protests of EPA scientists.

That’s why this year I – and tens of thousands like me – evaluated both candidates carefully. After examining the records of both, I find nothing in the long senatorial record of John Kerry that disturbs me as profoundly as the brief presidential record of the past four years.

In my lifetime, the stakes of an election have never been higher, especially for college students. Future jobs, security, the environment and – for those brave Americans who serve our country – lives are on the line.

Judging by the latest polls, my first vote – and those of many newly registered voters – may not be for the candidate who wins. But we will vote for the candidate who has the greatest chance of correcting the failings of the past four years and of making America better: John Kerry.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.