And in a marked departure, Walters chose somebody who is no longer alive as her most fascinating person of the year: Steve Jobs, Apple’s visionary co-founder who passed away in October at 56, after losing an eight-year battle with cancer.

Walters explained that the decision had originally been made earlier this year, but his passing didn’t cause her to change her mind. Sadly for Walters, the prospect of an interview with Jobs never materialized.

Jobs is arguably the worthy winner among the 10 nominees. One-time GOP darling Herman Cain was included, and he told Walters that he wanted to be head of the Department of Defense. (It’s an interesting career move for someone who recently said he didn’t need to know the name of the leader of “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan.”)