Well obviously I don't make much sense if you don't read what I have actually written.
"Unfortunately MOST STUDENTS" or even inexperienced pilots will have their head inside the cockpit.
Clearly we don't have to go back to basics regarding attitude and airspeed do we? I think we all know that power + attitude = performance (being our airspeed in this case). But the book does not publish an attitude does it... it mentions a speed. You're totally correct in saying that we maintain an attitude not a speed but I guess it is just a way of making things easier to explain rather than going into too much detail.