A good way to look at it is to picture a candidate sitting in a church who espouses hatred for whites, Jews and the USA because whites have too many unfair advantages. Now picture that candidate is white and the church espouses hatred for blacks Jews and the USA because blacks have too many unfair advantages.
Would you still give the white candidate the pass?
I'm not giving him a pass at all. As in the article, I don't think he's capable of such firm convictions. This was the church in Chicago that he needed to schmooze with in order to get elected there, so he joined. His longevity there is easily explained by his desire to retain his political power. It was a cold, calculated move.
I could be wrong, but that's just how I see it, and I think my view shows him as more dishonest than being a simple racist.