It’s been more than a year since a U.S. ambassador and three others were killed in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.

Even though there have been numerous congressional hearings about the deadly terrorist action and pledges of openness from President Obama and other senior members of the administration, there is reason to question whether the public knows what happened and why it happened.

Unfortunately, the lack of candor, honesty and transparency relative to the Benghazi attack and the reasoning for withholding an immediate response by U.S. forces has caused the majority of Americans to lose confidence in the president’s honesty.

Why hasn’t the Obama administrative team come clean with the American public? Fess up and get this issue cleaned up and behind them.

At a time when this country faces increasing challenges — whether in Syria, Egypt, Iran or other hot, or potentially hot, spots around the globe, as well as growing challenges here at home — the country needs to have confidence in and respect for its president.

Many members of the public may not be politically supportive of the president but, even so, they should respect whomever sits in the White House Oval Office. Americans should believe the president always will tell the truth — whether or not it may be embarrassing or politically harmful.

And, if he makes a mistake or misstatement, he should be quick to acknowledge the error and present the accurate story.

As the old saying goes, once a person is caught telling a lie, how can you ever trust that individual is telling the truth?

When campaigning for the presidency in 2008, several days prior to voters going to the polls, Obama told an admiring audience they were only a few days from being able to make fundamental changes in this country.

One fundamental that should never be changed is that an individual’s word should remain rock solid, always to be trusted.

The Benghazi tragedy should have been put to rest months ago. However, it continues to be a national disgrace because many of those with direct knowledge of what happened apparently have not been allowed to reveal what they saw and heard; they have been muzzled. Parents and family members of those killed in the attack have not been given the information they were promised, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not required to testify about the attack.

The longer critics and skeptics question the president and receive no answers from him or members of his inner circle, the more the president and his image are damaged.

There should be no question in the minds of Americans about whom to believe, respect and admire when comparing Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin. And, yet, in recent negotiations, Putin — not Obama — seems to have come out looking like the leader with vision and boldness. This is bad!

Regardless of what Obama claims, the public has been left in the dark concerning Benghazi and, because of this, Americans have growing concerns they are being left in the dark on numerous other major issues.

Politics can be, and often is, a dirty business, but there should be no question in the minds of the American public that their president always tells the truth, not half-truths. Granted, there are major partisan political splits in the country relative to domestic issues, but there should be no doctoring of facts concerning Uncle Sam’s role and involvement in foreign affairs.

It’s a disgrace and a slap in the public’s face that all the facts relative to the Benghazi attack, embarrassing or not, have not been disclosed a year after the killings. It’s also a disgrace the nation’s media have not called for a full and complete report.