Cyrus Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, was asked a few days ago if he deemed it appropriate for a prosecutor to take campaign money, as he does, from lawyers who have dealings with his office. Mr. Vance said, “The answer is that it’s legal.”

That was the B response. The A answer — and he knew it — would have been to acknowledge that eyebrows understandably soar skyward when a district attorney pockets cash from a lawyer who may have a client facing charges that could send that client to Attica.

Mr. Vance then said he’d review his fund-raising policies. It was a welcome acknowledgment that what is legal is not necessarily what is proper. “The last few weeks have been an opportunity for me to think anew,” he said.

The last few weeks have not been the best for Mr. Vance, who has no opposition on the Nov. 7 ballot as he seeks election to a third four-year term.