Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are running virtually neck and neck in the presidential race, a surprise to some as Obama has raised a record $440 million in contributions, according to a Washington Post article today by Matthew Mosk.  In fact, McCain had about $200 million to draw upon compared with Obama’s $94 million at the beginning of this month.  How? McCain and the Republican National Committee have “taken advantage of loopholes such as ‘hybrid’ television advertisements and joint fundraising committees” to keep building his campaign war chest, writes Mosk. Donations to the RNC, state Republican accounts, various joint committees and a McCain legal compliance fund can be sliced and diced and added to McCain’s efforts.  This occurs despite the Arizona senator’s agreement to halt fundraising and accept $84 million in federal money.  “One cute issue lurking within all of this joint fundraising is whether campaigns are getting away with having people basically give to party committees what technically is money earmarked to help a particular candidate,” Scott Thomas, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, told Mosk.  Put it altogether and it means McCain “is getting an $84 million subsidy for his campaign,” according to Lawrence M. Noble, another former FEC commissioner. Further evidence the federal program is broken and must be fixed.