Is the perception of the American public is that a president can only protect you if they support a war?

I am curious about this question because it brings up the views of how we see our president and presidential candidates. I was watching a program on CNN and someone mentioned that the American public really only believes a candidate will protect this country unless they have a positive stance on some war somewhere. How many of you think this is true? I think back at Kerry and Gore and many people thought they would not protect America like Bush would. However, since when does war quantify safety overall?