fit to $^{16}$O$(e,e^\prime p)$ data for $Q^2 < 0.8$ (GeV/$c$)$^2$ [@Fissum04]. Furthermore, we find that RDWIA calculations based upon the ordinary single-nucleon current with dynamical enhancement of lower components of Dirac spinors describe the left-right asymmetry for quasiperpendicular kinematics very well [@Kelly05a]; it is not obvious that one should describe quasiparticles for low $Q^2$ using Dirac spinors in a similar mean field.

In this paper we use relativistic distorted wave (RDWIA) calculations to analyze the data for $^{12}$C$(e,e^\prime p)$ with $Q^2 \lesssim 2$ (GeV/$c$)$^2$. In addition to the data considered by Lapikás [[*et al.* ]{}]{}[@Lapikas00], we include recent data from Dutta [[*et al.* ]{}]{}[@Dutta03] for $Q^2 = 0.6$, 1.2, and 1.8 (GeV/$c$)$^2$. Our RDWIA fits produce systematically larger normalization factors using Dirac-Hartree wave functions than using the Woods-Saxon wave functions that were fit to the NIKHEF data. The latter do not describe the momentum distributions for larger $Q^2$ well; nor do they describe the data for low $Q^2$ with quasiperpendicular kinematics as well as do Dirac-Hartree wave functions. Therefore, the fits to data for parallel kinematics with small ejectile energies appear to produce artifically narrow momentum distributions that result in anomalously low spectroscopic factors.

The model and fitting procedures are 