Bowles made those comments this morning at a breakfast in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, according to Bloomberg.

He said there’s another one-in-three chance that all sides will reach a deal early in 2013. 

“I’m really worried,” Bowles told reporters. “I believe the probability is we’re going over the cliff.”

Bowles isn’t involved in the budget negotiations, although he said he met with Obama yesterday. He also met today with House Republicans. Following the meeting, Bowles told reporters he sensed no greater willingness by Republicans to let income tax cuts for high earners expire Dec. 31 as Obama is demanding.

“There’s no scientific basis for me to say one-third, it’s just what I feel having spent my life as a negotiator,” Bowles said. As “people begin to react” and economic news comes out in the fourth quarter, there’s another one-in-three chance “you get something done real quick” in 2013, he said.