No one disliked flattery, including Mr. Truman. In fact, he quite enjoyed being flattered.
But different people understood flattery to different degrees and at different levels.
Take Bowling President, for example. As long as you praised anything he did, he would be delighted. His tolerance for flattery had always been low; as long as it was praise, he would feel happy.
Mr. Truman's tolerance for flattery was much higher, and so was the level required.
If he did something and you told him how well he had done it, that clearly would not give him a favorable impression of you. Instead, he would think you were trying to influence his opinion of you through flattery.
But if you viewed things from the people's perspective and expressed "understanding" toward some of the decisions he had made, he would be very pleased.
Replacing "You made a good decision" with "The people will thank you for your decision" would bring a smile to Mr. Truman's face.
He disliked excessive flattery, but there was a limit to observe. As long as you did not cross that limit, his mood would keep rising.
Conner stood between the two of them. He had his own unique preferences. He was somewhat arrogant and liked being praised, but he would not show it so strongly.
He acted naturally in front of Lin Qi because the two of them had an excellent relationship. He considered Lin Qi his brother despite having different parents, so he had no need to hide anything. Lin Qi, meanwhile, was very good at catching changes in his mood, then finding the point Conner wanted others to notice and praise, before giving him a couple of hearty compliments.
Of course, not everyone knew how to flatter him properly and smooth his ruffled fur. Otherwise, he