Susan Davis reports on the presidential race.

Win or lose next Tuesday, admirers of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin can gaze at her all year round with the release of the 2009 Sarah Palin calendar, filled with original photos from Anchorage-based photographer and friend-of-Palin Judy Patrick.

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2009 Sarah Palin Calendar (Courtesy Judy Patrick)

The 13-month calendar–the first of its kind–includes dozens of original portraits and candid shots of the Alaska governor on the job and with her family. July’s pictorial, for instance, features Palin wrapped in the American flag, with a sidebar of pictures of her and her children.

“This flag photo was taken just days after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 in 2001. Sarah, like the rest of the nation, was trying to cope with the attacks on American soil and demonstrating her patriotism,” the caption reads.

Patrick said her inspiration for the calendar was a simple one–she needs money. She and her husband are in the process of selling their Wasilla home to purchase a $250,000 condo in Anchorage that is somewhat out of their price range. They are looking to close on their new home Dec. 1.

“I’m hoping to sell enough calendars to make a healthy down payment,” Patrick said in an interview, noting that the project is entirely self-funded and won’t benefit anything but her home-buying interests.

The calendar costs $15.95 and has an initial 30,000 print run. It’s available through her Web site, www.sarahcalendar.com, and she is also working out a deal with Barnes & Noble to sell the calendar either in stores or online. It’s also available in local book stores in Wasilla and Anchorage.

Patrick said she was wary of appearing to exploit her friendship with the Palin family. She has known the governor since 1996 and served as her deputy mayor in Wasilla. She described herself as a “Palin surrogate” and before she set out to make the calendar earlier this month, she said she emailed Palin’s husband, Todd, to ask if he would have any problem with it. He never responded, so she moved ahead.

The photos are ones she amassed over her years of friendship with Palin as well as official photography work she did during Palin’s gubernatorial campaign and

Read more here.