Amid stories about how John McCain’s campaign this weekend in Iowa was overly gloomy when it came to Iraq, Dan Balz says that he certainly hasn’t lost his sense of humor:

“I had my glass of ethanol this morning, and I’m feeling good,” he said to ripples of laughter as he delivered his opening remarks to a jampacked audience in a Des Moines hotel ballroom. “I hope you did, too. Tastes good.”

When a man said he was serving in the Marines in Vietnam around the time McCain was being held in a North Vietnamese prison camp, the senator interjected, “Why didn’t you come get me?”

As the audience broke into laughter, the man responded, “Marines always love to rescue the Navy when they get the chance.”

“That’s what you get for being a smart [expletive],” McCain said of being turned into the butt of the joke.

A young man in Davenport said pointedly: “You ditched Iowa in 2000. Why should we support you?” The candidate responded, to peals of laughter: “You know, we should never let these young punks in. No respect. You remind me of my own kids.”

The ethanol joke was not lost on anyone, either. When he ran for president eight years ago, McCain skipped the Iowa caucuses, saying he did not have the resources to compete both there and in New Hampshire. But many Republicans suspected that his opposition to ethanol subsidies, vital to the Iowa economy, influenced his decision to stay out of the state.

Roger Simon also reported on McCain’s immigration position:

“We must secure our borders; they are broken,” McCain said in Davenport. “We’ve seen the devastating effects of illegal immigration. We can’t have people living in the country illegally. We’re going to have to have a humane approach to this problem, but we certainly can’t have people living in our country illegally, because it makes it more difficult for people to come to our country legally, the way that most of our parents and forebears came to this country.”

McCain’s obviously trying not to be outflanked on the right by Giuliani or Romney, which could definitely have a negative impact on his chances in the primaries. But for all the jokes and issues like immigration, abortion and CFR, it really just comes down to Iraq in the end, something McCain is acutely aware of:

“The one thing I’m sure of is, next January when the Iowa caucuses take place, it will be a very different scenario in Iraq than now,” he told reporters aboard his chartered plane as he flew between Cedar Rapids and Davenport on Saturday. “So if we’re starting to show success, then obviously the fact that I supported this is good. If it continues to deteriorate . . . .” He trailed off. No one needed him to finish the sentence.

When a reporter suggested that his fate ultimately may not be in his hands, McCain replied: “Yep. That’s why I can’t worry about it and I don’t worry about it. There’s nothing I can do about it.”