That last depends on the style of bike. Mountain bikes often have very short wheelbase lengths that are much the same or even shorter than road racing bikes. Yet they have room for humongous tires in some cases and "merely" big tires in the rest. Mind you mountain bikes get around the fouling of the feet by using a smaller wheel size.

Overall though I've found that all else being equal a shorter wheelbase handles slightly snappier than a longer wheelbase. Even a little difference is noticable such as when trying out two different sizes of the same brand and model.