Indignation Over Immigration Marks Beginning of Debate January 26, 2012, 8:40 pm Interesting start to the debate, with a question from the audience about illegal immigration. Though it at first seemed likely to prompt a more civil debate - especially since Wolf Blitzer, the moderator, chose to direct the question to Rick Santorum - it ultimately yielded the kind of vitriol between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney that some expected. Mr. Blitzer tried to get some engagement by asking why Mr. Gingrich called Mr. Romney's "self-deportation" plan a "fantasy." Mr. Gingrich chose not to begin an attack, saying only, "I don't think that grandmothers and grandfathers will self-deport." Asked to respond, Mr. Romney also held his fire - but that did not last long. Within minutes, he became the first candidate to win the audience by expressing outrage and indignation tonight. After Mr. Gingrich said that he still believes Mr. Romney is the most "anti-immigrant" of the four presidential candidates, Mr. Romney puffed out of his chest and complained. "The idea that I'm anti-immigrant is repulsive," Mr. Romney said, adding that he was angry about that "kind of over the top rhetoric." He added that Mr. Gingrich "should apologize for" what he said were "highly charged epithets." The audience roared their approval. Mr. Gingrich responded by asking Mr. Romney to "tell me what language you would use to describe someone who would deport a grandmother." But Mr. Romney again won the approval of the crowd by responding that "our problem is not 11 million grandmothers."