(FORTUNE Magazine) – Can you imagine my excitement when I got an e-mail from the President of the United States? That's right: On Friday, Nov. 1, 2002, at 2:51 P.M., I received an e-mail from President George W. Bush. The subject: "Vote to make America safer, stronger and better."

The e-mail addressed me by my first name, which is only appropriate because I have met the President at least twice in person. I'm sure that he remembers those six minutes as fondly as I do and wanted to address me personally.

The subject of the e-mail was very inspiring. Basically, the President reminded me of my civic duty to register to vote and then to actually cast my vote. Of course, the subtext of this message, which the President didn't mention, is that this an off year for elections, when a lot of people like me tend to think it isn't important to vote. So the President was doing his part by getting me motivated to exercise my constitutional right and duty. And while I was at it to "support our great Republican team."

The e-mail didn't change my attitude about voting: I am registered to vote and made sure I got to the polls on Nov. 5. But it did change my attitude about spam. In general, I hate spam. My most recent investment as a partner at my firm is in a company that has developed an innovative and unusually effective approach to controlling spam. (In case you have been asleep for the Internet Age, spam is defined as unsolicited and unwanted commercial e-mail.)

The e-mail from the President, however, is one of the best pieces of spam I've ever seen. The civic missive wasn't really written or sent by the President, of course. While I certainly hope he reviewed the text of the e-mail, it was designed and sent by the Republican National Committee as a modern version of the old Get Out the Vote strategy: The more Republicans you can get to vote, the more likely that Republican candidates will win local races. (I'm not registered as a Republican, although the RNC knows about me because I like George W. Bush and have donated money to his campaigns in the past. I'm registered as an independent.)

As a marketing tool, it was particularly elegant. The sender-name field in the header is completely spelled out so it looks as though the President himself is sending the e-mail to you. The text of the e-mail is short and inspiring. To wit: "America's the greatest country in the world and will remain so if Americans take seriously their right and responsibility to vote."

And it had a very simple call to action: It asked me to vote Republican and to forward the message to friends and family. It even provided spaces for me to fill out five new e-mail addresses and add my personal comments to the forwarded message, all of which is captured on the RNC's website. The forwarded message asks the new recipients to add themselves to the RNC mailing list for future messages. (Of course, being sensitive to the open nature of the Internet, the e-mail also provides a clear option for removing yourself from the mailing list.) Brilliant!

It would make life a lot easier if they (the Electoral College? Congress?) could figure out how to apply the principles of secure, real time e-commerce transactions to voting so that I could just click on a link in that e-mail to cast my actual votes. That would make the Internet a compelling real-time event for fundamental social benefit.

I also thought about how much commercial spammers could learn from the RNC. You know exactly what spam looks like: It promises to enhance your body in every conceivable way, make you lots of money without your even trying, get you loans or other difficult transactions, or otherwise improve your life quickly and easily. I would respond to a lot of this stuff if the spammers would take the time to design excellent marketing pieces. Address me by name accurately. Tell me something that is relevant to my life and needs. Give me an easy way to respond. Make me feel good about the whole transaction.

Actually, all of that seems like Marketing 101. And if the Nov. 5 election is any indication, those basic techniques work. The Republicans now control both houses of Congress. Who would have thought that politicians could teach us a thing or two about selling? If you were inspired like me, send George your personal feelings by e-mail to georgewbush@rnc.org. I'm sure he'll read every e-mail himself.

STEWART ALSOP is a partner with New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm. Except as noted, neither he nor his partnership has a financial interest in the companies mentioned. He can be reached at alsop_infotech@fortunemail.com. His column may be bookmarked online at www.fortune.com/technology/alsop.