Apple's late CEO would be the first dead man -- or woman -- to win the honor

Click to enlarge. Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty

Steve Jobs' name came up Tuesday -- it has many times since 1982 -- in a panel discussion organized by Time Magazine to help promote the 2011 Person of the Year.

Jobs was nominated by NBC's Brian Williams (see video here) and the proposal was seconded -- sort of -- by anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist and restauranteur Mario Batali.

Actor Jesse Eisenberg, who played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, thought Apple's (AAPL) co-founder an odd choice while Wall Street was still being occupied.

Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers liked the idea of "the hero CEO — guy who makes things we use," but cast his lot, like Eisenberg, with "Angry People."

The problem with Jobs for Anita Hill, the woman who nearly derailed Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court nomination, was that he lacked, in her words, "a generosity of spirit." What he wanted to spread, she said, "was really sort of about him."

The final decision, of course, rests with a handful of editors at Time who have never felt beholden to the celebrities they invite to these debates. For what happened in 1982 -- and how Jobs reacted when he learned that the editors had chosen a "the computer" over him -- see here.

Below: A partial transcript of the Steve Jobs portion of the debate, courtesy of Time Inc.

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