Yeah, I get what you're saying about it being a poor excuse. A lot of his current fans probably wouldn't like it if Kishi made it so he didn't take responsibility for his actions, but if we're talking about returning to Konoha, he has to at least acknowlege the fact that he was foolish to believe what Tobi said in the first place (and that most of his actions stemmed from said manipulation). And I also agree he could've handled the situation differently, like searching for facts instead of getting them from a guy he just met. Since he made it clear that he intends on killing everyone, they would never trust Sasuke not to unless he willingly assisted in fighting Tobi and/or eventually chooses to forget about his revenge. But I kind of feel like Sasuke is going to show up to the Tobi vs. Naruto fight shortly after the Konoha shinobi do and seriously injure or maim (if not kill) one of them - to let Naruto know he's serious about the fight. Basically, one of them is probably going to die (most likely one of the ones you mentioned).
Sasuke actually has done a lot of things in Konoha's favor, and no one can really hold a grudge or blame him for the events taking place now, so they are a lot likely to agree to his return if he gets a good lawyer, lol. I think the only way they would allow his return, though, is if he agrees to get all of his abilities sealed away and possibly his Sharingan removed, because he's a threat even to himself in his most irrational state.