SPRINGFIELD - It was 10 years ago today that the U.S. House voted to impeach President Bill Clinton and send the case on for a trial in the U.S. Senate.

Then-U.S. Rep. Rod Blagojevich was just finishing his first term in Congress and voted "no" on all four impeachment counts - two counts of perjury, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of abuse of power - against the two-term Democratic president.

Now that Blagojevich, a two-term Democratic governor, finds himself the subject of impeachment proceedings for alleged abuse of power, his comments have newfound meaning and offer a possible insight into whether he'll resign or force lawmakers to try to remove him.

"In the long view, our actions today will be a stain on President Clinton, but it will be a bigger stain on the 105th Congress," Blagojevich told the Chicago Sun-Times after the 1998 vote.

Blagojevich seems to have been proven right.

Following Clinton's 1998 impeachment his approval rating rebounded, his wife was elected to the U.S. Senate, he made millions of dollars on a worldwide lecture tour, he and his wife both wrote best-selling books, his wife nearly won the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, and Hillary Clinton will be secretary of state come January.

Meanwhile, Congress' approval dipped as the impeachment was viewed as a political witch hunt wasting taxpayer money.

Had Clinton resigned amid the scandal, it is likely none of that would have come to pass. In fact, the new film "Frost/Nixon" shows how President Richard Nixon agreed to the David Frost interviews because he needed money following his resignation as lawmakers were considering removing him from office.

It's likely none of this is lost on Blagojevich or his legal team. The federal complaint used to arrest the governor paints the picture of a man interested in money and power. Both would vanish upon his resignation.

"There is no sense in resigning," said veteran Illinois political observer Paul Green.

The governor's office is one of the few bargaining chips the governor holds in any possible plea negotiations with federal authorities. His security detail and taxpayer-provided transportation would both end, as would state health coverage and the $177,412 annual salary.

Blagojevich, 52, does not have personal wealth to tap into, federal authorities have threatened to put his once-lucrative campaign fund in the deep freeze and his political operation is still on the hook for nearly three quarters of a million dollars in legal fees.

Meanwhile, he's become a national political pariah, the subject of late-night television host jokes and Saturday Night Live skits.

In short, he has little to turn to if he's not governor.

"Though the state may suffer, Blagojevich would be out of his mind to go gently into the night. It takes away any leverage he has left," said Green, director of Roosevelt University's School of Policy Studies. "The fact of the matter is, governor is not something you give up. You make them take it from you."