even if they're correct, why don't they extend the same courtesy to capitalism

The C-J'ers attribute all sorts of things, falsely, to capitalism.
When it comes to socialism, they find a true believer to defend him from that charge.

Here's Billy Wharton, the editor of The Socialist, in the C-J...

The question "Is Obama a socialist?" spread rapidly through a network of right-wing blogs, conservative television outlets and alarmist radio talk shows and quickly moved into the mainstream. "We Are All Socialists Now," declared a Newsweek cover last month. A New York Times reporter recently pinned Obama down with the question, "Are you a socialist, as some people have suggested?" The normally unflappable politician stumbled through a response so unconvincing that it required a follow-up call in which Obama claimed impeccable free-market credentials....

The funny thing is, of course, that socialists know that Barack Obama is not one of us. Not only is he not a socialist, he may in fact not even be a liberal. Socialists understand him more as a hedge-fund Democrat -- one of a generation of neoliberal politicians firmly committed to free-market policies....

This guy is correct in that Obama is not (the most traditional form of) liberal in terms of foreign policy. He is certainly not committed to free market policies. Billy's claim about this is ridiculous-- and he doesn't bother to back it up.

The first clear indication that Obama is not, in fact, a socialist, is the way his administration is avoiding structural changes to the financial system.

Yep, but not exactly "free market", huh?