In little more than two weeks Californians will decide on $37 billion worth of proposals on government bonds to rebuild roads and levees, improve public school campuses and boost subsidies to create housing that average wage-earners can afford to live in.

But these key measures on the California ballot don't seem to be the focus of voter attention, despite the fact they will set a course for the state for years to come. It seems there are a few linked reasons for this.

* The national stage. The war in Iraq, and to a lesser extent the immigration debate and the congressional page scandal, have obliterated nearly everything else in the political dialogue as the country winds toward high-stakes congressional mid-term elections. Even in California, where there are only a couple of congressional races close enough to bear watching, the focus is on the nation's capital.

* Voter fatigue. This is California's eighth election since 2002. It was less than five months ago that voters said no to all eight propositions in the special election that many viewed as a special waste of time, money and effort.

Other than the gubernatorial race between incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Treasurer Phil Angelides, nothing on the California ballot is garnering voter interest, and even that race hasn't generated much heat. Races for state lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, controller, secretary of state and insurance commissioner are afterthoughts, at best.

Yet here's a ballot with 13 more statewide initiatives, dominated by those that would increase debt or raise taxes to pay for basic services.

The highest-profile measures are those put together by Gov. Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators: a $20 billion transportation bond (1B) for improvements to freeways, highways, bridges, city streets and port security; a $4 billion bond (1E) that would go mostly to shore up the wobbly levee system in the Central Valley, but which would also offer funding for efforts like Napa's flood project; a $3 billion bond (1C) to provide and improve housing for disabled people, veterans and low-income families; and a $10 billion bond (1D) for upgrading and building new schools, including $7 million for K-12 schools and roughly $3 million for public colleges and universities.

As election day nears, these measures are being overshadowed by the congressional page scandal, the stalemate debate over immigration and the increasingly polarized reaction to the war and international diplomacy.

Meanwhile, Californians are being asked to go into $37 billion worth of debt in order to stimulate improvement in key areas of safety, quality of life and education. These proposals are, in large measure, the solutions offered by elected leaders to California's major problems. They deserve careful consideration by voters, and can be seen as a referendum on the quality of California's elected leadership today. We are coming to a crossroads in California, but it seems few are watching.