Despite criticism by some Republicans of the TV ads that encourage Americans to fill out their 2010 census forms, one of the nation's best known GOP strategists is lending his star power to a new census commercial.

Karl Rove, former President George W. Bush's senior political adviser, is appearing in television ads paid for by the U.S. Census Bureau, encouraging people to fill out and return their census forms.

In the 30 second spot, Rove hearkens back to the Founding Fathers to make his case to send back the form by the end of April.

"One of my favorite founders is James Madison, principal author of the Constitution," Rove says. "He created an instrument of democracy by writing into the Constitution a requirement for a census every 10 years to ensure fair representation in Congress."

The spot comes as some Republicans in Congress worry that conservatives may not return their forms as an act of demonstration against the government. Some lawmakers, like Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), have also stoked fears that the government could use the survey to intrusively gather information.

Other Republicans have encouraged people to fill out the forms, saying that failure to do so could leave many Republican-leaning areas underrepresented in Congress.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has done it.

The congressman laid down a weight loss challenge for himself in mid-February, at the start of Lent, saying that he had to lose a significant amount of weight by Easter or else he'd skip the Easter Sunday feast.

Well, King tweeted on Sunday that he didn't go hungry.

"Made weight so sat down to Easter dinner with family. Dropped 13 lbs during Lent. Clothes fit and my soul is improved. Happy Easter!"

King isn't the only politican to publicize his weight loss goals recently. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) lost more than 40 lbs. last year after vowing to drop excess weight and eat a healtheir diet.

In 2004, King's fellow Republican, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee lost more than 110 lbs. and shared insights gleaned from recovering from what he called his addiction to food in a book, "Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork: A 12-Stop Program to End Bad Habits and Begin a Healthy Lifestyle."

The ex-governor, who was accused of trying to sell the Senate seat of now-President Barack Obama, among other charges, was eliminated on Sunday night from the NBC show "Celebrity Apprentice" hosted by Donald Trump.

The real estate mogul used his patented "you're fired" line on Blagojevich.

Blagojevich is barred from holding political office in Illinois forever, so he'll have to be creative in finding his next job.

Johnson voiced worries about overpopulation on Guam at a hearing recently, saying, "My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize." He later said he was joking. 

On a less humorous note, the congressman's tweeted Sunday in response to the grounding of a Chinese shipping vessel on the Great Barrier Reef which threatened to spill fuel and coal into the world's largest coral reef.

"Dismayed by grounding of Chinese ship on Great Barr. Reef; coral reefs must be protected. As goes the Earth, so goes humanity. #habitat #eco"

The White House on Monday welcomes more than 30,000 people for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Among the stars expected to be in attendance are

Pop senasation Justin Bieber, the cast of the television show Glee, "Harry Potter" series author J.K. Rowling, Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon, Olympic gold medal-winning speed skater Apolo Ohno, "Law and Order: SVU" star Mariska Hargitay, Art and Soul restaurant chef Art Smith, Restaurant Nora chef Nora Poullion, tennis legend Billie Jean King, and members of the National Football League's Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens.

According to the White House, the visitors will hail from all 50 states, having been chosen by an online lottery system.

Later on Monday, President Barack Obama will throw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals home game season opener.

The White House is getting its website ready for Apple's highly anticipated iPad.

WhiteHouse.gov has been optimized so visitors can better view its content on their BlackBerry, Palm Pre or "anything with a mobile browser."

That includes the iPad soon to be released by Apple that has received a ton of hype this past week. The White House also recently launched an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

iPad users also will be able to watch live and on-demand video.

Check out more details about the mobile tweaks here on the White House blog.

Actor Kal Penn, best known as one half of the "Harold and Kumar" duo, is leaving his job at the White House, Entertainment Weekly reported Friday.

Penn had worked at the White House since 2009 as associate director of public engagement. He is reportedly leaving to return to Hollywood to work on the latest installment of the "Harold and Kumar" series, a franchise of stoner comedies. Penn campaigned for Obama in 2008. 

On ABC News' "Top Line" webcast, White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee hinted that Penn's departure could be for financial reasons.

“I'm hurt and offended that you didn't ask whether the million dollar Hollywood contracts were calling for me,” Goolsbee joked. “I have not accepted any such contract at this point.”

Washington churchgoers should take a close look around the pews on Sunday morning -- because they might be sitting a few rows away from President Barack Obama.

Obama, who has largely avoided attending church in the Washington area, will attend an Easter service in the city this Sunday, an aide said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama, who is Christian, will attend a church for the holiday, but he declined to say which church the president will visit.

When Obama fist took office, a number of churches in the region hoped he and his family might join their congregations, but thus far they have not attended any one service regularly.

H/T: Sam Youngman

President Barack Obama pushed back against criticism from two of his most strident opponents, conservative talk hosts Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, in an interview aired Friday.

Asked by CBS' "Early Show" about the strong critiques of his time in the White House, Obama said Beck and Limbaugh and have spewed "vitriol" against him.

"When you listen to Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck, it's pretty apparent, but keep in mind that there have been periods in American history where this kind of vitriol comes out," Obama said. "It happens often when you've got an economy that is making people more anxious, but that's not the vast majority of Americans."

Some liberals and Democratic lawmakers have blamed Republicans ands right-wing media, such as Limbaugh, Beck and Fox News, which hosts Beck show, of fueling threats of violence to lawmakers and their families.

But Obama and other Democrats have called on Democrats to not place partisan blame for threats to lawmakers.

Obama also took a jab at former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) in an effort to push back against comments that his healthcare plan is "socialist."

Romney created a healthcare law in his state several years ago that Obama has compared to his own. While making the comparison on Friday, Obama slipped and called the presumed GOP presidential candidate "current Republican nominee Mitt Romney."

Romney has said he opposes the Democrats' healthcare bill.