Ever since she became one of Sen. Barack Obama’s most trusted and effective surrogates in his campaign for president, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, has been tossed around as a possible vice presidential candidate.

Today on Meet the Press, Tom Brokaw threw a little fuel on that fire. He asked McCaskill whether she was being vetted as a VP candidate and while McCaskill offered the typical dodges, she didn’t deny the premise of the question. (Brokaw also asked Republican Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, if she was on Sen. John McCain’s short list for VP, but he was less specific in her questioning).

McCaskill told Brokaw that she wouldn’t bet on her being the VP. But there are several reasons why McCaskill might be a good bet. First, she and Obama see eye to eye on many issues, and as his national co-chair, she’s obviously gained his trust. As a woman, she could help ease the pain of female voters upset over Hilary Clinton’s loss. McCaskill is from a traditional battleground state.

And her biggest negative — like Obama, she is in her first term — might work to the campaign’s advantage as it pushes “change.”

Brokaw pointed out that this was the first time in Meet the Press history in which the two surrogates sent to represent presidential candidates were both women. McCaskill and Fiorina both seemed to recognize the importance of that moment as they represented their candidates aggressively but fairly and shook hands at the end of the discussion.