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Sen. Rand Paul got headlines Sunday for criticizing the Jeb Bush comment that illegal immigration was sometimes an 'act of love.' But his rebuke was gentle, perhaps because 2016 is looming.

When potential presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said last weekend that illegal immigration was not a felony, but instead often an "act of love," he was surely braced for the blowback from conservatives. And it has come.

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But on Sunday, the latest rebuke was among the gentlest, and that could suggest that the entire tone of the conversation will change next year.

Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky said Mr. Bush "might have been more artful, maybe, in the way he presented this," adding that the problem with Bush's views are that "we can't invite the whole world."

Senator Paul appears to have his own designs on a White House run in 2016, and he knows that advocating for immigrants who come into the United States illegally is hardly the way into the hearts of most Republican voters. Indeed, Paul was speaking to ABC News from a conservative summit in New Hampshire, where he appeared to be testing the presidential waters with other hopefuls such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R) of Texas and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

This was not the time or the place to go soft on illegal immigration.

Yet Paul kept the flamethrower in the closet. He charitably suggested that Bush was not "terrible" for making the comment and added that "people who seek the American Dream are not bad people."

After all, Paul is not Senator Cruz, whose presidential bid is predicated on turning the Republican base into a quivering ball of outrage. But he's also not Bush, an electable establishment moderate who appears to be thumbing his nose at the tea party right.

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DOVER, N.H. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told New Hampshire Republicans Friday night that the key to winning the youth vote could come by appealing to them on privacy issues, arguing that one of his potential rivals former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is vulnerable on the topic.

Theyve all got a cell phone and they all think the government shouldnt be looking at their cell phone or listening to their cell phone without a warrant. We get to the young people with privacy, Paul said at an NH GOP rally at the Cottage by the Bay in Dover, N.H., Friday night.

Its not a conservative or Republican issue. Its an area where we can connect with people who havent been connecting. Obama won the youth vote 3 to 1 but hes losing them now. Hillary Clintons as bad or worse on all of these issues, he said. Its a way we can transform and make the party bigger or even win again, but weve got to be as proud of the Fourth Amendment as much as we are the Second Amendment.

In the wake of revelations about the NSAs surveillance programs, Paul has made a concerted effort in recent months to speak to young people about privacy issues, recently delivering a speech at the University of California, Berkeley. The Kentucky Republican has also increased his outreach with African American voters, a constituency which typically gravitates towards Democratic candidates.

Why are we losing the cities? Because were not getting the African American vote, Paul said, noting he recently visited Detroit to outline a plan for helping the financially troubled city. Dont give up on that vote. Go after that vote.

The Kentucky senator also asked New Hampshire Republicans to increase turnout in their state, joking that neighboring Massachusetts has a liberal influence on the Granite State.

If we want to win though, we have to win states we havent been winning. New Hampshires one of them, so I expect you guys to do a better job. We used to always win New Hampshire, he said. Now somebody told me the real answer was building a fence between here and Massachusetts.

Earlier this week, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who moved to New Hampshire late last year, announced his bid for senate in New Hampshire. Paul told reporters Friday that he will not endorse a candidate in the New Hampshire GOP primary this year.

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MANCHESTER, N.H. As Republican contenders converged on New Hampshire, a brewing rivalry began to take focus Saturday, pitting a duo of tea partiers with overlapping agendas.

Sen. Ted Cruz and his Kentucky colleague, Rand Paul, are allies on a host of issues. Back to back at a conservative summit, each pitched a message of economic populism meant to broaden the GOPs appeal and vowed to curb federal power.

For conservative voters who get to cast the first primary ballots of 2016, its pretty much a tossup.

I would vote for a Paul-Cruz ticket. Or a Cruz-Paul ticket. It depends on which one of them wants it more, said Auburn, N.H., resident Jesse Edwards, 56, a retired Army officer.

New Hampshire political activists viewed this weekend as the unofficial kickoff for the 2016 campaign. A daylong Freedom Summit held Saturday by Citizens United and Americans for Prosperity at a hotel near the Manchester airport offered the first chance of the cycle for potential candidates to appeal for the affection of Granite State conservatives.

Apart from the senators, Fox News commentator and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also shared the spotlight as did Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich, who arent expected to make a run in 2016.

If you listen to Democrats, Cruz said at the summit, they will tell you that Kathleen Sebelius resigning [as health secretary] is a result of Obamacares success. If that is true, then I hope every Democrat will follow her path.

Paul used his speech to argue that the GOP message should be aimed more directly at wooing blue-collar workers and minorities. If we want to grow our movement, its got to have new people. We cant be the party of the plutocrats and the rich people, he said.

Cruz popped into the press room as Paul was speaking. He pointed to the TV screen.

Riveting. Powerful, he said.

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