The storm over a Dubai company’s plans to take control of facilities at half a dozen US ports is fanned by many political winds. Most striking is the freedom that politicians in President George W. Bush’s own party have felt to complain about his administration’s approval of the deal.

“The president is less and less influential, and his approval numbers are still low,” said Paul Light, professor at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. “A lot of these members of Congress are saying, ‘I need to stand up on my own’.”