Chimpy slips back into the 30s in thelatest Gallup poll.

The poll, conducted Sept. 7-10, finds that 39% of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president, while 56% disapprove.

How about some historical perspective?

Bush’s 39% approval rating is among the lowest for a president in September of a midterm election year. It is the same as Bill Clinton’s job approval in 1994, when the Republican landslide allowed the GOP to take majority control from the Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate. Bush’s current rating is also similar to that of Ronald Reagan in 1982, when the Democrats gained 26 seats. More generally, Bush’s ratings over the course of this year have been lower than the other presidents in midterm election years, with the exception of Richard Nixon in 1974, who resigned in August of that year for his role in the Watergate scandal.

And the Republikkkan Congress, how are they doing?

The current poll finds little change in the public’s assessment of Congress — 29% approve of the job Congress is doing and 63% disapprove.

The mood of the nation? Sour.

Thirty-two percent of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country right now, while the majority of Americans, 67%, say they are dissatisfied.

From a historical perspective, the current 32% satisfaction reading is quite low. Since 1979, the average percentage of Americans saying they are satisfied is 43%. One of the earliest surveys of this measure, conducted in July 1979, found satisfaction at 12%, the lowest ever measured, although not much below the 14% measured in June 1992.

The current reading of 32% is very similar to the satisfaction levels in 1994 (33% in July, 31% in October). This again reinforces the conclusion that the election environment this year is similar to that in 1994, when the incumbent Democratic Party suffered significant seat losses in the House.