Did race play a role in the Biden pick?

There are many reasons to like Joe Biden on the Democrats' ticket. But a particular question nags at me:

Would Joe Biden be the nominee if he was black?

Oh, sure, you'd like to say "yes." You'd like to point to his compelling story, his potential pull in Pennsylvania, his ability to be a savvy political attack dog, and say, "of course, Barack Obama has plenty of reasons to pick Biden." And that is true.

But look at the "short list" of Vice Presidential contenders: Evan Bayh. Tim Kaine. Before Enquiring minds wanted to know how to sneak out of the Beverly Hilton at 2 a.m., John Edwards. Kathleen Sebelius.

All white.

I'm not saying there's any funny business going on - at least not overtly. I'm just saying that I heard nothing about Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick - and that one-term as a Massachusetts Governor is enough to put you in a major party's Veepstakes.

So the question remains: If Joe Biden was black, would he be accepting his party's nomination for Vice President tonight?