How do I execute a program from python? os.system fails due to spaces in path

import os;
os.system("C:\Temp\a b c\Notepad.exe");
raw_input();

'C:Tempa' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

import os;
os.system('"C:\Temp\a b c\Notepad.exe"');
raw_input();

import os;
os.system('"C:\Temp\a b c\Notepad.exe" "C:\test.txt"');
raw_input();

import os;
os.system("'C:\Temp\a b c\Notepad.exe'");
raw_input();

The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

import subprocess
subprocess.call(['C:\Temp\a b c\Notepad.exe'])

import os
os.startfile(filepath)

import os
os.startfile(textfile.txt)

os.system('"C:/Temp/a b c/Notepad.exe"')

TheCommand = '""C:\Temp\a b c\Notepad.exe""'
  os.system(TheCommand)

TheCommand = '""C:\Program Files\Sun\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe" '
                 + ' clonehd "' + OrigFile + '" "' + NewFile + '""'
  os.system(TheCommand)

import os;
os.system(""C:\Temp\a b c\Notepad.exe" C:\test.txt");