The Republic | azcentral.com Sat Jan 11, 2014 9:21 PM

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a potential 2016 Republican presidential hopeful, last week was in the home state of his sometimes sparring partner U.S. Sen. John McCain for a series of events.

The libertarian-leaning Paul, R-Ky., has clashed with McCain, R-Ariz., on the Senate floor over U.S. drone policy and was among the new breed of Capitol Hill conservatives whom McCain last year memorably dismissed as “wacko birds.” McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, subsequently apologized for the insult. Paul’s father, former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, was one of McCain’s GOP primary rivals in 2008, and the two also frequently went at each other over national-security and foreign-policy issues.

“I think we have a good personal relationship,” Rand Paul told The Arizona Republic on Friday after appearing at a breakfast fundraiser for his political victory committee at the Scottsdale Silverado Golf Club. “I would say from my point of view, I have a great deal of respect for him for his war service — I consider him to be a war hero — and his long service in the Senate, particularly his willingness to travel around the world.”

Paul, who also was scheduled to headline an Arizona Republican Party reception and a Goldwater Institute dinner, suggested the media likes to focus on conflict and amplify discord in general, which he said helps explain why he and McCain are often portrayed as being at odds.

“We don’t always agree, but because we disagree on things, people don’t point out things we do agree on,” Paul said. “He’s been an advocate for getting rid of government waste, including even waste in the military-procurement process, and doggedly fought for a lot of those things that I agree with.”

McCain told The Republic that even with his “very strong libertarian views,” Paul is still “more centrist” than his father.

“We have a very cordial relationship,” McCain said of Rand Paul. “I haven’t picked anybody for 2016, but Rand Paul is a very forthright and effective senator. We certainly have our disagreements, but I have a very high regard for him.”

Paul said he is considering a presidential run and has had discussions about the prospect with his staff and his family. He said he probably won’t reach a decision until after this year’s congressional midterm elections.

“There are pros and cons; I do want to be part of trying to make the Republican Party bigger and better,” Paul said. “I think the country is stuck in sort of an era of stagnation right now. I think we need dramatically different policies to get our country growing again. So, I want to be part of that, and I think I have something to offer on that, and maybe something a little different than many others in not only am I fiscally conservative and worried about economic freedom; I’m also concerned about personal freedom.”

On that front, Paul said he is organizing a class-action lawsuit against the National Security Agency that will be filed in the next week or so. The NSA has been under fire for its sweeping surveillance program. “I think it’s something that crosses over party-wise,” he said. “I think young people in general are offended by the government collecting all their records without a warrant, or with an insufficient warrant.”

In other developments:

Paul parted with McCain over last year’s Senate-passed bipartisan immigration bill. Paul voted against the comprehensive legislation, which includes a pathway to citizenship for most of the estimated 11 million immigrants in the United States without authorization. McCain was the lead Republican negotiator in the “Gang of Eight” who collaborated on the bill.

“But I am for immigration reform,” Paul told The Republic. “For anybody who wants to work, I think we can find a place for them. And that means even those who are already here.”

Paul said he ultimately opposed the “Gang of Eight” bill because it would set limits on visas for foreign workers in the agricultural and construction sectors that are too low. And the senators who supported the package would not consider making changes, he said.

“I’m probably more pro-having a big work program than the bill was, and that was part of the problem for me,” Paul said. “I didn’t feel like there was enough openness to let others be part of the process.”

U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., took to Twitter to criticize former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, whose new memoir blasts President Barack Obama’s war-related leadership.

“Extraordinarily bad timing, and form, if you ask me,” Flake tweeted on Tuesday.

McCain, a longtime critic of Obama’s handling of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, had a different take.

“I was surprised at his candor, but I wasn’t surprised at all about his assessment of the president’s lack of commitment in Iraq or Afghanistan, or his view of the politicization of national security,” said McCain, a senior GOP member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

Nowicki is The Republic’s national political reporter.