Rand Paul's wife not sold on his possible 2016 presidential bid

While the political tea leaf readers continue to tout a Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., presidential run in 2016 as all but a foregone conclusion, there's still one major skeptic: Paul's wife.

In a wide-ranging profile of her husband in Vogue magazine, Kelley Paul said she's not sold on the idea of her husband seeking higher office.

"Because in this day and age it's mostly about character assassination," she told Vogue. "When I think of the tens of millions of dollars in opposition research that they'd be aiming right at us and our family--that's what it's about."

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Paul, who was elected to his first term in 2010 and is the son of former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who mounted three presidential bids, is widely seen as positioning himself for a campaign.

His mother, Carol, however, told Vogue not to expect any campaign announcements any time soon.

"Ron thinks it's terribly early to be starting a campaign," she told the magazine. She did admit that the idea of her son jumping into the presidential fray "feels real," but adds that "Rand says he won't declare that he's going to run until after 2014. . . . Groundwork has to be set."

Paul's March filibuster of now-CIA director John Brennan, focusing on his opposition of the government's use of drones, cemented his status among the pundit class as a potential 2016 contender. And his regular bucking of establishment Republicans and his libertarian views have given him a large voice in steering the GOP as the party tries to figure out how to move forward after major electoral losses last year.

Recently, Paul has been an outspoken opponent of military action in Syria and also waged a war of words with another possible 2016 candidate, Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., over their views on national security, with Christie going so far as to call the libertarian wing of the party "dangerous."

Regardless of the criticism, Paul told Vogue that he thinks he has the prescription to fix the GOP.

"I want the Republican Party to grow and to be strong and for our ideas to win in Washington," he said. "And the way they win, I think, is adding a little bit of a libertarian infusion, a little bit of a constitutional Bill of Rights type of approach to issues and instill that into the Republican Party."