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On July 12, the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) hosted an off-the record luncheon discussion entitled “The Fight Ahead: Predictions and Implications for the 2010 Congressional Mid-Term Elections.” The luncheon featured remarks by Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report, who discussed the current political environment, the outlook for the 2010 midterm elections, and the factors at play this election cycle. Robert Liberatore, GMF senior transatlantic fellow, moderated the discussion and added his thoughts on the 2010 elections’ impact on President Barack Obama’s domestic, foreign, and security policy.   The United States faces mid-term elections in less than four months. With campaigns already in full swing and the nation’s heated political climate, re-election pressure will affect many key issues in both the House and Senate.  During the roundtable, the audience discussed the prospective impact of the elections on a variety of issues, including climate change, health care, rising unemployment, the economy, immigration, the war in Afghanistan, and the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. These and other issues are likely to play a factor in the political process and could determine the number of seats that will change between the parties in the 2010 election. Using current polling data, Mr. Cook illuminated the ways these scenarios might affect the outcome of the midterm election. Both Mr. Cook and Mr. Liberatore speculated on the elections’ potential impact on President Obama’s agenda. For both the president and Congress, this could prove to become another difficult balancing act in which outcomes are far from certain.